


Happy 2 Apartments

by VioletBaudeBunni (SugarCherrySundea)



Series: Happy 2 Apartments [1]
Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV), A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-01-02 17:48:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 28,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21165650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SugarCherrySundea/pseuds/VioletBaudeBunni
Summary: The Baudelaires and Quagmires finally find peace far, far, FAR from the places they'd been met with their unfortunate events in... with some unlikely new guardians.In a clean, green city, in two, beautiful apartments, they kids will get into some high jinks. They'll learn new things about themselves. They'll process their pain. Fall in love, discover happiness, move on...And see faces old and new.Welcome home.





	1. [Find My Way] The one where fate touches the stars.

**Author's Note:**

> My blog - https://hongmoondescendant.tumblr.com/  
H2A AU Violet blog - https://missbuild-a-laire.tumblr.com/

[[Find My Way]](https://youtu.be/KEOaoaU559s)

_ Jacquelyn, _

_ Meet me at Old Ed’s Soda Shop. We have something to discuss. _

_ We’ll leave this world behind, _

_ L. Snicket. _

Those words ran through Jacquelyn’s mind over and over as she walked briskly to her destination - L.? Lemony? _ Lemony Snicket? _He couldn’t be alive - it was impossible…

But… around a year ago, was it? He was spotted - spotted speaking with the Baudelaire children the night before all hell broke loose.

The night Dewey died in an unfortunate accident. The night before Olaf had escaped. The night before a mysterious boat fell from the roof of the hotel. The night before so many perished in flame. The night before the Hotel Denouement burned to the ground. 

If only she had been there… she would have been able to help. Why didn’t she follow that gut feeling? Why..?

_ Why… _

That didn’t matter, now. What mattered is that a mysterious man who was thought to have died long ago wanted to speak with her. She kept a knife and pistol on her person - she knew better than to be so gullible. V.F.D. was tricky - a firestarter could easily lure her into a false sense of security. Anyone aligned with the Baudelaires were as good as dead to them.

She wouldn’t be _ their _easy kill this day, oh, no, no, no…

Not on her watch.

Jacquelyn finally came to the establishment mentioned in the typewritten letter, only to see it mostly empty… with a lonely looking man in a suit… sitting near the door…

Sipping on a root beer float.

_ That’s… definitely him. _

So he _ was _alive. Sneaky bastard.

She gave a small smile before pushing open the door, the bell dinging gently above her.

The man behind the counter didn’t look up, but the Snicket man did,

“Jacquelyn… you made it.”

* * *

“...You want me to abandon V.F.D.?” Jacquelyn said plainly, raising an eyebrow at Lemony.

“In short, yes. They’re corrupt beyond redemption - which is why I’ve been on the run for some time, now.” Lemony replied.

Jacquelyn blinked at him.

He wasn’t… _ wrong, _but, this was…

_ V.F.D. is all I’ve ever… known… _

“Please, Jacquelyn. Those children… the kids need us.” Lemony said, arching his eyebrows upwards.

Jacquelyn grit her teeth for a moment, “And what makes you think we’ll find them so easily?”

“...I have this… feeling. In the pit of my stomach. You know what that’s like, I’m sure.” Lemony said.

_ ...Right. _

Jacquelyn bit her tongue.

“We need to get to Briny Beach. We can take my taxi - if you agree to it, that is.” Lemony explained quickly.

Jacquelyn breathed in slowly.

Leave V.F.D.. Find the children. Run far, far away from the city. Try to live normal lives.

She looked at the desperate, depressed man. His eyes were sunken, tired. He looked pale. He was so, so... _tired_.

The countless lives that were lost because of this organization… the broken promises… the betrayals... 

She closed her eyes for a moment,

“...Yes.”

Lemony inhaled deeply through his nose, “Excellent. Let’s get moving, then.”

Hopefully they wouldn’t regret this.

* * *

The sky was dark and gloomy. It looked as if rain would fall at any moment, the waves lazily pushing up onto the shores of Briny Beach.

The Snicket taxi pulled up slowly, Lemony getting out as soon as he put it in park. Jacquelyn watched as the man looked out onto the dark, dirty waters of the seemingly endless ocean before them.

“...Snicket…” Jacquelyn called after rolling the window down. She was about to speak again when he interrupted her,

“I see… _I see a sail._”

She clamped her mouth shut, looking to the distant water - a white sail, far off from the shore was coming slowly into view.

A faint hint of green caught her eye - 

_ Balloons? _

No, it couldn’t possibly be…

Both adults looked to the sky,

A plethora of green balloons were being swarmed by a handful of angry eagles. Lemony felt his heart stop for a moment. The ones on the boat - they had to be the Baudelaires. The Baudelaires had to have noticed the balloons… the Quagmires.

The Quagmires were in danger.

Distantly, Jacquelyn and Lemony heard the frantic cries of the assumed Baudelaire children, calling out to the shore, to the balloons,

_ To… us. _

“W-we - what can we do? Lemony-!” Jacquelyn began urgently, getting out of the taxi.

“...Our best.” Lemony replied without looking back, then rushing to the shore.


	2. [Find My Way] The one where the kids are alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My blog - https://hongmoondescendant.tumblr.com/  
H2A AU Violet blog - https://missbuild-a-laire.tumblr.com/

[[Find My Way]](https://youtu.be/KEOaoaU559s)

One by one, the balloons were popped by the furious firestarting eagles, and the frantic screams of the Baudelaire children were growing closer and closer. Jacquelyn and Lemony had no choice but to watch in fear and horror at the quickly descending airship.

“BAUDELAIRES-!” Lemony called out to the small ship as it drew nearer, two of the older figures paddling frantically to the shore, “QUICKLY, HERE-!”

Jacquelyn looked frantically between the falling airship and the arriving dingy, trying to form _ some _kind of idea in her head.

Lemony ran as fast as possible in the water, sloshing up to the Baudelaires, scrambling to pull the boat closer to the shore - the eldest, Violet, grabbing onto a small baby, leaping out -

Klaus got out and helped Lemony, Sunny looking desperately at the sky,

“QUAGMIRES-!” The toddler screamed. Her lungs felt like they were going to burst.

“Fuck- shit- _ hell-” _Violet swore, clutching the babe to her chest, trying her best not to trip as she made her way to dry land. Jacquelyn ran up to the eldest Baudelaire. Violet then held out the baby, Jacquelyn taking the babe in her arms. Violet then collapsed onto her hands and knees, breathing heavily. She looked back to the skies…

Lemony and Klaus pulled the dingy to shore, Sunny jumping out, running to her sister, “Violet..! Violet…” She breathed, nearly crying, “Is Beabea ok..?”

Violet coughed, “Y-yeah, she’s fine, don’t worry about _ us, _ worry about _ THEM.” _She choked, pointing to the airship.

“It’ll be fine.” Jacquelyn said quickly, clutching the baby who was now beginning to realize the weight of the situation, “As long as they hit the water they’ll be fine - Violet, right? Sunny? Who’s this-?” Jacquelyn tried, but the two weren’t listening, clearly. All the woman could do was clutch the now crying baby to her chest as the wind whipped around them.

Klaus was screaming. Screaming _ something. _Lemony was just. Standing. Staring. Violet lay coughing, sobbing. Sunny stood beside her, crying out.

The last balloon was struck by the sharp beaks of the bastard birds, and with a sharp _ POP- _it was like the world went silent for a moment as something ascended from the waves. Something tall, towering… no…

It couldn’t be…

Lemony fell backwards. There was a faint ringing in the muffled noise.

The airship fell, fell… falling…

Things went black for a moment.

* * *

Lemony opened his eyes, finding himself lying on the wet sand. The airship was beached, but wrecked beyond repair. Something serpent-like slipped beneath the calming waves. Something stirred in his arms, and he looked down,

He had caught Klaus in the sudden chaos, trying to protect him.

_ Kit was wrong about me lacking fatherly instincts, I suppose. _

The spectacled boy sat up quickly upon realization, staring at the wreckage. Violet then ran past them, limping, placing her hands on the ship, “ _ QUIGLEY? ISADORA? DUNCAN?” _

Jacquelyn walked over to Lemony’s side, still clutching the child. Sunny ran over to Klaus. They exchanged variations of “Are you ok?” and “I’m fine.”

“ _ V-Violet..?” _A meek voice called out. It was loud enough that Violet could hear it, “D-DUNCAN, Oh my God, Duncan..!?”

“I’m… we’re ok… b-but…” Duncan called out. A stronger voice came, “Hector’s _ probably _dead.”

“Quigley, he’s dead. Just fucking say it. He wouldn’t survive that kind of wreck.”

“_QUIGLEY, QUIGEY!!_ Oh fuck, Isadora..!” Violet cried in relief, but then was hit with a wave of grief about Hector, “Oh… oh fuck… I’m-”

“We can’t find his body, Vi. Can you see an opening? I can see some light…” Quigley came. “Y-yes! Hold on-! We’re coming!”

The eldest Baudelaire motioned for Klaus to help her. Jacquelyn placed the panicking babe into Lemony’s arms as the man had sat up and gotten his bearings, then running over to help as well. Sunny began to try and hush the little baby.

As the three began to pull and push various parts of the airship, Lemony looked down at the baby girl - 

“...Who is this..?”

Sunny swallowed,

“Beatrice II.”

Lemony stared at Sunny for a moment.

“...She’s… Kit’s daughter. Kit’s… she’s gone.” Sunny explained, pained.

Lemony clenched his jaw, then looking back at the little baby,

“...I’d thought as much.”

They heard some loud exclamations, and looked up,

The Quagmires clambered out onto the sand, looking quite scratched up. Duncan was the worst out of all of them, but they were ok. They were all alive, and ok.

Violet and Quigley immediately latched onto each other and began to sob, followed by Klaus, Duncan, and Isadora. Sunny ran over and lunged into the pile. Jacquelyn merely stood to the side, her hands over her mouth, trying her best not to utter a cry of her own.

They sat like this for a long while, crying. Crying for everything and everyone they lost. Crying because they were ok. Crying for the unsure future.

Lemony looked down at Beatrice II,

“...You have your mother’s eyes.”

The baby had stopped crying, and was now looking at Lemony with familiar interest.

Lemony smiled.


	3. [Find My Way] The one where they see the money.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My blog - https://hongmoondescendant.tumblr.com/  
H2A AU Violet blog - https://missbuild-a-laire.tumblr.com/

[[Find My Way]](https://youtu.be/KEOaoaU559s)

Violet looked up at Lemony and Jacquelyn after they had all gathered together there on the beach, a mess, “...Why are you… here?”

“You’re Lemony, aren’t you.” Klaus asked suspiciously.

“Jacquelyn..!” Sunny began happily, before remembering that she was a part of V.F.D., and shrinking away.

Jacquelyn sighed. Lemony cleared his throat, “Allow me to explain.”

As Lemony Snicket went on about his plan, the kids became a little less… nervous. He told Jacquelyn to find the first-aid kit in the trunk of the taxi, to which she began to doctor the kids, Klaus and Quigley helping her to the best of their ability.

“So…” Duncan began, then wincing at Klaus pressing a swab to his arm, “Y-you want to _ leave? _ And… take _ us _with you? And...”

"To hell with V.F.D." Isadora spat.

Lemony nodded,

“You deserve better. Far from here. Away from these… cursed lands. There’s nothing but misfortune in this soil. That’s been proven as much.”

Sunny blinked tears from her eyes, “But… they could find us…”

“They won’t.” Jacquelyn said suddenly. All the kids looked to her.

“They won’t. I won’t let them. Over my dead body.” She hissed.

Isadora smiled slightly.

“So… where are we gonna go?” Quigley asked. Klaus wrapped some gauze around Duncan’s arm.

“We’ve found a place far from here - it will take a few days, but we’ll make it. It’s remote - they haven’t been touched by V.F.D., they don’t know about us at all.” Lemony replied.

Klaus rose an eyebrow, “That sounds…” “...Unreal.” Quigley finished. Violet nodded as she absentmindedly wrapped an arm around his.

“Our fortunes…” Duncan said quietly. Jacquelyn looked at him,

“What?”

Violet cleared her throat,

“He asked about our fortunes.”

“...Well,” Lemony breathed in quickly, “That will have to… stay here for the time being.”

“We’ll be fine. I _ am _a duchess after all - I’ll keep things under control - Lemony, don’t give me that look - trust me.” Jacquelyn explained.

The kids blinked at her.

“...Oooook.” Quigley said. Isadora bit the inside of her cheek.

There was some silence for a moment,

“I want to see it.” Violet spoke.

“...What?” Lemony asked.

“I want to see the Baudelaire fortune.” She explained, “I want to see the fucking thing that the bastard wanted us dead for.”

Jacquelyn raised her eyebrows, then looked to Lemony. He opened his mouth to object, but then closed it. Klaus gave Violet a heavy look. She threw a sarcastic glare back at him. Sunny giggled slightly.

“...Fine.” Lemony said, “...Poe was announced dead, and Jacquelyn is still _ technically _part of the bank, so, well, I’m sure we can… take a look.”

“At our’s, too?” Duncan asked. Quigley and Isadora gave him a look.

“I- I’ve never seen… our sapphires… before…” Duncan fell into a whisper. Klaus pat his hand gently.

Jacquelyn sighed, “Appearances won’t matter, either. I’m sure the bank will still be as oblivious as ever. Come on, then.”

“Oh, shit, maybe we can nab some of it.” Quigley snorted. Violet giggled before leaning into him playfully. “..N-no, you-” Klaus began.

“They’re joking, Klaus.” Isadora stated, poking at her bandages. Klaus cornered his eyes.

* * *

Jacquelyn was right - the bank was still as oblivious as ever. In fact, it may have gotten worse. That possibly wasn’t a good sign.

Not that it mattered to them.

They came upon the first vault, “Quagmires, first. There’s not much in here, last I’d heard.” Jacquelyn said, beginning to input several codes. The kids waited patiently, the Quagmires nervous.

Lemony watched carefully as she began to spin the handle this way and that, then yanking the door open.

A cold chill came through, and Isadora poked her head under Jacquelyn’s arms, 

“Yep, those are some sapphires.”

The teen then slid past Jacquelyn, who sighed as she pulled the door open a little more, the other kids following.

There, encased in a single, bullet proof glass stand, were several very large, very shiny sapphires. Quigley ran over to it, then looking around,

“What, no red lasers?”

“Not now, anyways.” Jacquelyn said, not entirely confirming. Duncan looked closely at the glittering gems,

“...These are… _ ours?” _He whispered.

“Don’t fog up the glass, dipped shit.” Quigley said, shoving him over. The boys eyes widened as he saw them.

_ ...Future wedding ring pieces, maybe? _He thought playfully to himself.

Isadora crossed her arms,

“I don’t get it.”

“Whaddayou _ mean _ you don’t _ ‘get it’? _ ” Quigley squeaked at her, “What is there to _ ‘not get’!? _They’re shiny, big, expensive gems!”

“Your point?” Isadora retorted.

“Hmmkay, fuck you too, I guess.” Quigley snorted, “Duncan, seriously, don’t smudge up the glass.” 

Duncan glared at his brother, “Am _ not!” _

Lemony sighed. Jacquelyn cleared her throat, “Come on, then.”

Isadora shrugged, leaving. Quigley smirked, doing the same. Duncan blinked.

Quigley grabbed onto Duncan’s ragged collar, pulling him away, which he objected to.

* * *

“And now, the Baudelaire fortune.” Jacquelyn sighed, doing a various number of things to another vault door. Sunny bounced on her heels. Klaus wrung his hands. Violet clenched her teeth, her arms tightly crossed.

It was silent for what seemed like a lifetime before Jacquelyn pulled the door open.

The air that hit them from this vault was even _ colder, _and made some of them shiver.

As the door was pulled all the way open, the kids eyes widened at the neatly packed and wrapped palettes of money, along with various crates that undoubtedly held other valuables.

The Baudelaires quietly made their way inside, Klaus looking all around him. Sunny stayed at Violet’s side, clutching at her ruined skirt.

They walked around for a minute or so before Violet noticed something lying on top of a crate nearby - 

It seemed far more genuine than anything else in the God-forsaken vault.

She walked slowly over, placing a hand on the neck of a dusty ukulele.

Lemony’s mouth went dry as he noticed this,

“...That was your father’s… his father passed it down to him…”

Violet glanced at him as she picked it up.

“...Bertrand used to play it for us… before…” Lemony sadly reminisced. Jacquelyn placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. He swallowed.

Violet only sighed, bringing the ukulele to her chest.

_ This is the… only thing we have left of dad. _

The strummed, listening to the gentle noise it made. Lemony’s memories came to him in a flurry, as if a snow storm had hit him with full force...

“I’m keeping this.” Violet said suddenly. Klaus double took her, “Yo, what?” 

Jacquelyn stayed silent.

Violet didn’t look up from the instrument, “This’s mine, now.”

“...Let’s go, then.” Jacquelyn said finally, not objecting. Violet nodded, holding on tightly to Bertrand’s ukulele. Klaus swallowed. Sunny smiled up at her. Quigley grinned, Isadora cornering her eyes. Duncan raised an eyebrow.

The group then silently left when Jacquelyn had locked the vault back up.


	4. [Find My Way] The one where they get the hell out and settle the heck in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My blog - https://hongmoondescendant.tumblr.com/  
H2A AU Violet blog - https://missbuild-a-laire.tumblr.com/

[[Find My Way]](https://youtu.be/KEOaoaU559s)

Their surroundings went from cityscape, to the hinterlands, to a broad expanse of green pastures.

Lemony explained he’d found a nice place for each of them to live - The Baudelaires would stay with him while the Quagmires would stay with Jacquelyn across the way.

“Where?” Duncan asked from the backseat of the taxi.

“In some nice apartments. They’re spacious. You’ll have your own rooms.” Jacquelyn replied. Lemony nodded.

The kids looked at each other anxiously.

Lemony cleared his throat,

“Sleepovers are fine. Just don’t overdo it.”

They began to smile.

“You’ll also be attending a public school nearby the complex this coming fall - you’ll have to do some testing to get into your appropriate years… if you’re up for it.” Jacquelyn said.

Violet blinked,

“A… public school?”

“James Mayhem High School.” Jacquelyn answered, “Lemony will be interviewing for an AP Literature position there once we’ve settled. I’ll be taking care of Sunny and Beatrice II.”

_ Mayhem? _Klaus thought.

Violet tried not to smile. _ That sounds vastly different from… Prufrock. _

“...Mayhem.” Quigley smirked.

“The Mayhem warriors.” Lemony said, “They pride themselves in the care of the students, among many other pleasant things.”

This was sounding all too good to be true.

What happened for them to hit such a vein of luck?

Oh.

Right.

“Regardless,” Klaus said from his seat, “This is a lot at once… and… well…”

“We’ll get it done.” Quigley shrugged, “We’ll make it happen.”

“Hell yeah.” Sunny announced. Violet pursed her lips to keep from laughing. Klaus threw a shocked look at his younger sister, “S-Sunny-!”

“‘Been listening to Violet _ far _too much.” Isadora said jokingly. Violet giggled.

* * *

As the days went on, the kid’s worries melted into a sense of hope. At each stop they made by gas stations, truck stops, motels, and convenience stores, these hopes grew. Their wounds were healing, inside and out. Their surroundings changed from dead and lifeless to lush and vibrant. As they grew closer to their destination, it became clear what kind of city this would be.

“What’s the name of this city, anyhow?” Quigley asked, pulling at the strings of his new hoodie. Violet plucked at the strings of the Baudelaire ukulele, Isadora leaning on her shoulder, watching the inventor’s fingers.

As the taxi drove past a plethora of overhanging trees, they soon came to the exit of the flora’s tunnel, showing a suburban town with buildings whose walls were covered in climbing plants. A glittering lake was nearby, ducks flapping about and kicking up water.

“It’s quite convenient of you to ask now,” Lemony said as the kids looked out the windows at the new world around them,

“Welcome… to Luvlind.”

* * *

The taxi pulled into a parking space of their new home, the kids jumping out,

“522 is for the Baudelaires, 523 is the Quagmires.” Jacquelyn announced. Quigley and Violet grinned at each other before running to the stairs not far off, Sunny running after them.

Klaus squinted in the bright sunlight, looking up at their new residence - 

“So… this is where we’re staying?”

“Hopefully you’ll come to like it. We’ll be doing some shopping in a few days… set things up, get settled in - we’re far from the prying eyes and horrible hands of V.F.D.” Lemony replied.

“And if they try anything,” Jacquelyn began in a low voice, “They’ll have to deal with _ me.” _

Isadora smiled,

“We appreciate the gesture. Hopefully it won’t be us they pester.”

Duncan smiled.

Lemony and Jacquelyn walked up the steps, the others following. The two guardians unlocked the doors, and in they went.

Violet ran in, and popped her head into one of the rooms,

“My room. Dibs.”

“Sis, we all get our own rooms - I think they’re all relatively the same.” Klaus said, walking into the room across from hers, “This one’s mine.”

“Oh sick, they have bathrooms in them! ‘Love it when they do that.” Violet said, her voice echoing in the vacant bathroom.

Sunny walked into she and Bea II’s room, “We get to share, Beabea!” Sunny said as Bea II toddled toward her. The little babe clapped her hands, “Roomie!”

Lemony smiled.

In the other apartment, Quigley flopped down on the floor of his new, empty room, Duncan closing the blinds in his, and Isadora already plotting out where her new furnishings would go.

“Don’t fall on the floor like that - you’ll piss off the neighbors downstairs.” Jacquelyn said, “Once you’ve claimed what’s yours we’ll be going to eat.”

“Epic.” Quigley said, staring up at the ceiling,

“ _ Hey Izzie Wizzie.” _He called as Jacquelyn left.

Isadora poked her head into his room,

“Hm?”

“The ceiling’s got that funky popcorn shit.”

“... Please don’t eat it.”

“Who said I was gonna eat it?”

His sister gave him a look,

“Do you remember that one time when we were little and you climbed up onto the bookshelf… and plucked some of that shit off the ceiling?”

Quigley blinked at her.

“And you fucking ate it?” She finished.

The cartographer groaned,

“You eat the ceiling popcorn one time - _ one time! _\- and suddenly you’re pinned for life.”

“Shouldn’t have done it, doodoo head.” Duncan said, peeking in.

Quigley nearly lost it, “ _ hUHhoo- _what? Hh-” He snorted.

Suddenly, Violet rushed in and tackled Quigley on the floor, causing Isadora to step backward slightly,

“Thanks, Vi.” The poet said, looking down at the two now rolling around on the floor.

Jacquelyn sighed,

“I’m sure the neighbors already hate us.”

* * *

Over the next couple of months, they brought in furnishings, tech, appliances, doodads, doohickies, and other things that would make their apartments feel much more like a new home. The teens studied and went into testing to get ready for the coming fall semester at Mayhem High. For a few weeks, all the kids slept in one room, terrified someone would disappear.

Every so often, one or more of them would have a nightmare. They would either wake up crying, screaming, or both.

Jacquelyn decided to get them in for therapy. It helped somewhat. It would take some time.

Their therapist recommended they get a dog. Violet was all hands and feet. A few days later, Violet adopted a little Jack Russel Terrier shorty named Pickles.

“I’m gonna build a watermelon smashing machine.” Violet announced one day. Klaus looked at her, bewildered.

“Hell yeah, babe.” Quigley said, not looking up from his textbooks.

“I finished studying, I deserve this.” Violet said, walking to her room.

“Queens only.” Isadora spoke, scribbling away in her commonplace book.

Klaus huffed, “You can’t be serious, Vi?!” He called down the hallway.

“Fuck you, plucky man, expect a trip to the store tomorrow morning. Get honk’d.” Violet called back.

Sunny threw her little arms up in triumph. Klaus suddenly felt very tired. Again.

* * *

_ They want a story, I'ma tell 'em that__  
_ _They wanna see I got the visions__  
_ _Want the change, I'll make the difference__  
_ _And you know that I'll be searching 'til I bring it back__  
_ _Yeah, I went through hell and back to find myself__  
_ _ But I am not the same as who had left, no,_

Violet and Quigley sat close together on her bed, snuggled up, a blanket wrapped around them, Violet’s 3DS in her hands. Quigley said something stupid, making her giggle again. He tapped at the screen and she shooed away his hand, grinning. Pickles lay on the floor, dozing.

_ I am not the same, I'm reinvented from the head-toe__  
_ _Still I'm on that same old__  
_ _Still I'm grinding just to reach a payroll__  
_ _Since I was like yea-tall and yea-old__  
_ _ I was always cooking, you were feeding off the day olds,_

Klaus walked in, plucking up a pillow from his sister’s computer chair and chucking it in their direction. Quigley grabbed it and threw it back at him, Violet giggling. Duncan ran in, throwing himself into a bean bag. Violet complained about everyone coming into her room. Duncan stuck his tongue out at her. Pickles was now up and running around at the instance of chaos.

_ I ain't really know it, but I should though__  
_ _I ain't really get it, but I could though__  
_ _Somethin' 'bout the distance got me shook though__  
_ _Head so full of 'I don't cares' and 'I don't knows'__  
_ _But I been hiding from that part of me, still keep it close_

Klaus sat on the floor in front of Duncan, laying his head back and looking up at him. Duncan took out his phone, Klaus laughing and covering his face. Sunny ran in, telling them to be quieter - Bea II was trying to sleep. Duncan asked the littlest Baudelaire about some late-night snacks. She sighed and complied, running back out, Pickles following her.

_ My tired face, my normal face, yeah, you know that ain't change__  
_ _I got a goal, I got a check so you know I can't stay__  
_ _ Yeah, you know I can't stay_

Isadora walked in, reciting some loving poetry, Quigley making gagging noises. The Quagmire sister picked up the same pillow and threw it at him, this time it hitting him in the head. Violet giggled, then swore, looking back at her 3DS.

_ And I see the sun, it sets down on my tired city__  
_ _Wind blowing on my face, I wonder if it's drifting__  
_ _To somewhere far away, I'd like to come along and__  
_ _ I'd like to come along and, oh, I'd like to come along and,_

Bea II toddled in, rubbing an eye and yawning. Klaus looked at her and apologized, asking if they’d woken her. She shook her little head and ran over to Violet’s bed, trying to climb up onto it.

_ I see the sun, it sets down on my tired city__  
_ _Wind blowing on my face, I wonder if it's drifting__  
_ _To somewhere far away, I'd like to come along and__  
_ _ I'd like to come along and, oh, I'd like to come along and,_

Klaus got up and went over, helping her up. She crawled over to Violet and Quigley, the cartographer letting the little babe snuggle between them. Bea II asked what Violet was playing. A Link Between Worlds, Violet replied, showing the little thing the screens. Her big eyes glittered in interest.

_ Woke up, right side of the bed__  
_ _Still broke, still Joe, but it's all on my head__  
_ _I got hope, got love, got a spot on the edge__  
_ _I got goals, got flows and I'm tryin' to wed, I might__  
_ _Go deep, hoping it'll be okay__  
_ _I can't wait until I see the day__  
_ _No sleep, hold dreams in pillow cases__  
_ _ Now we gon' see, it's so amazing_

Lemony looked in, viewing the kids laughing and talking. He smiled gently, leaning onto the doorframe. Quigley cracked a few jokes about the game and Violet began to cackle, then playing off those jokes with a bit. Duncan cackled. Isadora commented something that made Klaus bust out laughing. Bea II belly laughed.

_ No choice but I ain't say it controllin' me__  
_ _Holds me down to the ground when I'm feelin' so over me__  
_ _Get surrounded by sounds, thinkin' this how it's supposed to be__  
_ _I ain't feelin' as lonely and I ain't hip with the rosary but__  
_ _I got hope, got faith in this__  
_ _I feel great, feel dope, tryna take a risk__  
_ _With my friends, know foes gonna hate on this__  
_ _ See nice colors everyday, no shade in this._

Jacquelyn slid to Lemony’s side, looking into the room. Lemony looked at her,

“Have you heard or seen anything?”

“Nope.”

“A good sign, for once.”

Jacquelyn smiled, watching as Duncan filmed the chaos with his phone,

“It’s only up from here, Snicket.” She said.

Sunny called out a little warning and the two guardians made way as the toddler ran in with a large tray of snacks, pursued by Pickles. Quigley hurrahed her as she set the tray carefully on the end of Violet’s bed, everyone moving to grab something. Pickles tried to hop up and nab something herself, but Klaus grabbed the pup and laughed as the little dog wriggled around in his arms defiantly.

_ And I see the sun, it sets down on my tired city__  
_ _Wind blowing on my face, I wonder if it's drifting__  
_ _To somewhere far away, I'd like to come along and__  
_ _ I'd like to come along and, oh, I'd like to come along and..._


	5. [No Fear No More] The one where oh hey school is a thing, huh.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> High school is known to be "the most important time of a young person's life" and apparently "the best years of your life".
> 
> Let's see if that's true.
> 
> Our star-crossed nerds are now starting their sophomore year of high school at Mayhem High.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My blog - https://hongmoondescendant.tumblr.com/  
H2A AU Violet blog - https://missbuild-a-laire.tumblr.com/

[[No Fear No More]](https://open.spotify.com/track/2TZ9kaTiLewawHZK7yylSC)

“Kinda shocked you were able to skip your freshman year, bud.” Violet said to Klaus as she flopped down onto the couch. He glanced over at her from his laptop,

“What, like it was hard?” He snorted.

“Alright, true, but still,” She said, grabbing his nose between two fingers,

“Now you’re gonna have to deal with meeee~”

Klaus’s face fell, “Thahnk yew fohr remahndingg meeh.” He said, his voice nasaled. Violet let go, giggling, “You’re so  _ very  _ welcome, plucky fuck.”

“...I’m  _ not plucky.”  _ Klaus whispered in annoyance as he turned back to his laptop screen.

“Ya are.”

“...I am not.”

“Are too.”

“I’m  _ not.” _

“Are  _ too.” _

“ _ Not.” _

“Are.”

“Cut it out, you two.” Lemony came into the living room, holding yet another cup of coffee. The elder Baudelaires glanced at him, Klaus then glaring at Violet.

“Violet’s bullying me.” Klaus announced, faking a pathetic voice. Violet began to cackle,

“My  _ SISTER  _ is  _ BULLYING  _ ME!” Violet mocked, grabbing onto his shoulder and shaking him. He wrestled her hand off of him. Sunny ran in, Bea II toddling behind her,

“I’m making a big breakfast for your first day of high school!” The sunshiny Baudelaire announced, “And Bumblebea is helping!”

The little BaudeSnicket clapped her tiny hands in excitement, “Pamcakes!”

Lemony chuckled.

“Oh.” Klaus breathed, “Right. School’s tomorrow.”

“Yep.” Violet said, smirking, “A  _ whole new world  _ of torture ahead, which I will  _ happily  _ take on. And, if it kills me,” She said, getting up, putting her hands on her hips, “It kills me.”

“Don’t be like that, Vi, come on.” Duncan said as he and his siblings walked into their apartment. Isadora chucked her commonplace book at Klaus, who attempted to catch it, but fumbled. Violet cackled.

“Come on in, I suppose.” Lemony called from the kitchen bar, tired. Again.

“Mayhem’s gonna be great! It’s in the name!” Duncan said, going over to Klaus and wrapping his arms around him from behind the couch. Klaus smiled and looked up at him,

“I don’t think I’m too fond of a school with the name  _ Mayhem.” _

“Bitch, fuck you,  _ I  _ am.” Violet said, “I can’t fucking  _ wait  _ to see what kinda bullshit I can get into-”

She felt Lemony giving her a look,

“I… mean…  _ whaaaaat?”  _ She said, turning to look at him, “I’d never do that. Getting into trouble?” She laughed nervously.

“I would.” Quigley said, sliding over to her side, wrapping an arm around her waist, “Imagine - you and me? We’re gonna cause  _ so  _ much shit.” He continued, looking off into the distance, his hand up. Violet giggled.

Lemony only sighed very, very loudly.

* * *

Klaus stared at his bed that evening, looking at the spread of school supplies that lay out before him.

_ Do I REALLY need ALL of this? _

_ Because, like, teachers tell you to get all this shit, and then you end up never using the notecards or laminated dividers they asked for unless you just use them on your own accord. _

His thoughts were interrupted by the loud, stupid noises Violet and Quigley were making from across the hall in her room.

He saw a pencil case get flung into her dresser, Violet then laughing, swearing at him, then appearing into Klaus’s view to retrieve the item.

“You guys could take this a little more seriously.” The bookworm called.

Violet stood up, smirking,

“Hey, Quig, the killjoy is emitting his mating call, again. Where’s your brother?”

Quigley popped his head into the doorway, looking at Klaus, “I dunno…”

Klaus glared at them.

“Hey, dude, try yelling louder, you might summon him or something.” The Quagmire boy grinned. Violet was in a fit of giggles, then disappearing from view. Quigley’s head then slid back inside.

Klaus glanced at his bed, then went from his room to Violet’s,

“Aren’t you guys the  _ least  _ bit worried? We’re not going to be together _ all the time. _ ” He said, then surveying the chaotic mess that was Violet’s room.

“I mean, yeah, sure, but like,” Quigley began, “What’s the point in worrying so much?”

“Olaf’s dead.” Violet blurted out. Quigley and Klaus looked at her.

She swallowed,

“The others… can’t find us here. We’re far, far away.”

“Yeah!” Quigley agreed, “Like, super far away. You remember how long it took to get here, right?”

Klaus looked at them for a moment, then only nodding.

They were definitely worried. He could read his sister like a book, and Quigley was just... obvious.

“...Clean your shit up, we’ll all sleep in here tonight.” Klaus said. Violet opened her mouth and closed it for a few seconds, then retorting with a sassy “Who died and made you the eldest? Not I, by far.”

“Don’t sass me, woman.” Klaus said back while returning to his room. Violet silently stuck her tongue out.

“I can see that!” He called. Quigley started laughing.

She only rolled her eyes.

Later, Sunny made dinner, Jacquelyn helping. Dinner was lively, and the kids decided to watch some youtube videos that  _ they  _ thought were hilarious, but Lemony and Jacquelyn didn’t entirely understand.

“Alright. Bed time. Now.” Jacquelyn announced after everything had been cleaned up, and they all groaned, “Don’t make a fuss with me - you need to wake up early tomorrow. Ten o’clock, bed, come on, then.”

“This’s my normal bed time, I dunno why you guys can’t do it.” Sunny said, getting up from her spot on the floor.

“ _ That  _ is because they all stay up until 2AM  _ pissing off the neighbors.” _ Lemony said. Violet snorted.

“It’s beddy bye, bro.” Quigley stretched, “It’s nighty night, dude.”

“Go cozy, aaaaa, go sleepy!  _ Aaaaaaa _ .” Violet said, leaning on him, smiling. Isadora and Duncan laughed. Klaus smiled and rolled his eyes.

They made their way to Violet’s room, Jacquelyn saying she’ll be ready to take them in her Certified Soccer Mom Van™️ in the morning, then leaving.

“Floor’s covered in soft stuff.” Duncan said, flopping down, “Soft stuff’s  _ real  _ nice.”

“Go  _ COZY _ . Go  _ SLEEBY. _ ” Violet said, hopping onto her bed.

“AaaAaAaAaAaaaa…” Quigley yelled softly before flopping facedown onto her bed.

“Hey. No. On the floor, lover boy.” Isadora said, pointing at him and then to one of the plethora of sleeping bags, pillows, and blankets on the floor.

“Who said I was gonna?” Quigley’s voice was muffled, “ _ Fffffuck yoouuuu _ …” He slid down to the floor, then turning over.

“Bridge. Build it. Go over.” Isadora only said, gently kicking his head. He made an ‘Oblivion hit noise’ grunt (“ _ Ogh!” _ ), making Violet and Duncan laugh.

“Stop! In the name of the law!” Klaus shouted, then walking over to her in a goofy fashion. Isadora rolled her eyes,

“Listen, I’ve never played Oblivion or any Elder Scrolls game and I don’t plan to any time soon.”

“Not even Skyrim?” Duncan asked from the floor.

“No.”

“Todd would be very disappointed.” Sunny said blankly.

“He will come for you in your sleeping hours.” Klaus said, putting her in a gentle headlock, “Then where will you be?”

Isadora laughed, sliding out of his headlock and onto the floor.

“Sleep.” Lemony’s voice came, causing them to scramble into their sleeping bags.

* * *

That night’s sleep wasn’t as restful as the teens wanted or _ needed  _ it to be. Violet woke up from some uneasy dreams, leading Quigley to silently slip beside her, and they cuddled until they fell asleep. Klaus ended up at Duncan’s side for the same reason, and was awake until at least 3am, quietly whispering with Duncan.

Isadora recited poetry to herself, Sunny listening while she dozed.

When the morning came, they were rested, but... not  _ well  _ rested.

Violet and Isadora were getting ready in Violet’s bathroom, while Klaus watched Quigley scan the school’s map closely, marking where his classes where, committing them to memory.

“This school is huge, my dudes.” Quigley said as Duncan walked in, drying his hair with a towel,

“Real shit?”

“Also the numbering of some of the rooms make no sense.” Quigley continued as Duncan looked over his brother’s shoulder, “Like… the rooms with higher numbers like 900? At the front of the school. The 100’s? At the back.”

“Wh-???” Was all Klaus could say as he too went to look over the boy’s shoulder.

Quigley grumbled, “This oughta be fun.”

Klaus sighed,

“Just keep your maps and schedules on you until you memorize where you need to go to classes each day - simple.”

“Fooooor  _ you!”  _ Duncan poked at his bookworm boyfriend.

“Simple for me.” Quigley replied, “You two’ll get loooost.”

Klaus glared at him, “N-no. I won’t.”

“Bet.” Quigley shot back. Klaus squinted at him for a second. The feral boy was right, but the bookworm would never admit it. And he hated how much he was right.

“Be nice to me, fuck you.” Klaus only retorted back. Quigley snorted, “Close friends are never nice to each other-- only when they  _ neeeeed  _ it.”

“Fuck both of you, and Klaus, I mean that in the most loving way possible.” Duncan said gently to Klaus. Klaus felt himself soften, but kept his face stern for the act.

“Blessings. I’m gonna go finish getting ready.” Klaus replied. Duncan nodded gently to him, laughing quietly.

As Klaus went into his bathroom, Violet came into her brother’s room, looking straight at her boyfriend,

“Baby?” She asked semi-sweetly.

Quigley glanced up at her, “Yeah?”

“Where’s my map of the school?”

The boy pointed at it. She hummed, then plucking it up, “Thank you, my  _ darling sweetie. _ ”

Duncan rolled his eyes.

Quigley cleared his throat, “I made sure it was  _ crystal clear  _ and  _ immaculately made  _ so your dumbass wouldn’t get lost.”

Violet hugged him, “And I love you deeply for it.”

“Y’know,” Quigley continued, “Like your dumbass brother.” He raised his voice slightly.

“ _ Why are you like this!?”  _ Klaus yelled from the bathroom. Violet snickered.

“ _ At least your sister is honest about being a dumbass!”  _ Quigley called back.

“No thoughts, head empty.” Violet said proudly, poking at her head, then sliding out of the room.

Duncan shook his head in confusion before continuing to pack is bag.

* * *

Jacquelyn waited patiently, leaning on the front door behind her, her arms crossed. Lemony stood nearby, holding a mug of coffee. He glanced at the clock,

“They’re going to be late.”

“No. No, they’re not. Stop saying that, Snicket.”

“Just you watch.”

Jacquelyn rolled her eyes, “Not with me behind the wheel.” Lemony raised his brows at her,

“Don’t you  _ dare  _ pull a Kit on me.”

“‘Keeping her memory alive, Snicket.” Jacquelyn merely replied, smirking. Her gave her a tired look before looking down the hallway. Before he could say anything, they all came barreling down the hallway, Pickles barking at them wildly.

“ _ We’re not late-! _ ” Quigley called, Violet grabbing a bare pancake and holding it in her mouth while she put her backpack on. Jacquelyn cornered her eyes before unlocking the door and opening it, the teens then running out and down the stairs, “Don’t trip.”

Lemony plucked up the hyperactive dog before she could run after them, and Sunny called down to them happily, waving. Bea II babbled her own little goodbye from the smallest Baudelaire’s side.

They all piled into Jacquelyn’s Certified Soccer Mom Van™️, Duncan claiming the front passenger seat.

“Bitch? Who said you could have shotgun?” Quigley spat. Violet and Duncan laughed, Isadora rolling her eyes.

“I popped outta mom first, I get the Cool Kid seat.” Duncan called back.

“You wot?” Quigley mocked, staring at the back of the front passenger seat. Violet giggled, “Babe, don’t worry about it. You get to sit with me, now!” The inventor said sweetly. Quigley pursed his lips, then looking to her,

“...You right. You right.” Quigley said finally, “B’ok.”

The rest of the ride was mostly spent in giggles and whispers and the occasional question about where this classroom was and whatnot (“Where the FUCK is my science class?? wH- WHY IS IT THERE? WHY ARE THE NUMBERS LIKE THIS-?” “Dude, we talked about this  _ before-” _ ). Jacquelyn looked tiredly over the steering wheel at the lines of traffic - first day of school traffic.

As they edged closer, Jacquelyn looked at the rear-view mirror at the group of rambunctious teens,

“Now, remember, if you need anything, you have our numbers on your phones. Lemony is teaching speech and an AP literature class, so he’ll be on campus.”

“Epic, ok.” Violet said.

Jacquelyn blew some air out of her nose,

“Just don’t… abuse that.”

There were some sarcastic snorts.

* * *

The teens hurried out of the car, Violet pushing Klaus impatiently out of the way, laughing. As the others fooled around, Duncan stopped to look at the large high school in front of them, dozens upon dozens of other students milling around or making their way inside.

Jacquelyn saw them off before rolling up the window and driving off.

Klaus turned to see Duncan, and raised an eyebrow, “Are you alright, babe?”

Duncan simply blinked, shaking himself from his thoughts only to say, “S’big.”

The others made their way to the boys, Klaus looking to where Duncan was looking.

The school was indeed very large.

The front itself was large, but quite nice looking. There were some plain, white columns holding up a pretty, neat arch. Several, large glass windows and three sets of glass double doors. Various other teens moved around the group. There were shouts, laughter, chatter. Inside, they could see even more people moving about the entrance lobby. A couple of security guards stood at the security desk. A large set of stairs went up to the second floor, they saw a few kids running up the stairs and disappear.

“Wow. Ok.” Klaus said finally.

Isadora grinned, “We’re  _ so  _ gonna get lost.” Causing Violet do gently shove her, smiling.

“Well,” Quigley said, shrugging, “No time like the present. Let’s get it, bitches.”

Violet cackled, and they began to move inside.

Though they were all together now, they knew at some point they’d have to all go on their own, no matter how hard they tried to find as many classes to take together as possible. The thought of being alone  _ terrified  _ all of them. They were basically fresh bait at this point-- brand new, only knew each other…

They sat on some benches up against a wall where a few lockers used to be (Lockers weren’t a necessary thing at this school, which made Klaus a little disappointed, but also thankful because the others agreed they’d much rather of their belongings on them at all times.), and watched as a few teens and some teachers walked (Or rushed) from place to place down the long hallways, past all the classroom doors, disappearing eventually.

“So… where do you guys want to meet for lunch?” Duncan asked.

Violet shrugged as Quigley got out his map, then looking at the upper floor,

“‘Looks like there’s a group of benches in this corner of lockers right here..?” He said, pointing at the location. “It’s by some science rooms, near the… upper gym lobby and the music hall.”

Violet blinked, “Oh, I think one of my classes should be right next to that area…”

“Oh?” Isadora asked, “Which one?”

“Uh…” Violet said, definitely remembering, but… “I uh… don’t remember right now.”

“Liar. Out with it, nerd.” Isadora said leaning on her shoulder. Violet bit the inside of her cheek,

“ _ C-choir…”  _ She said quietly.

“What was that?” Klaus said, looking from his schedule to his sister.

“THIS BITCH SAID  _ CHOIR?”  _ Quigley hollered, “Why are you in  _ choir!?  _ YOU of all people-?”

Klaus blinked at her, knowing exactly why. Violet took in a deep breath,

“Our mom was a singer.” She began, “A… really good one.”

Quigley quickly snapped his mouth shut. Duncan’s eyes turned soft, “...I get it, Vi.”

Violet rolled her eyes, “I just want to see if I’m as good as mom. Maybe broaden my horizons a bit? I mean, shit, Quig, you and I are going to take art together.”

Quigley blinked, “I mean, yeah, but-”

“This school is known for its fine arts programs, I think it’s alright to take advantage of them.” Klaus spoke up.

“Their STEM ones are rad, too.” Violet noted quickly, excited.

“Lemony is teaching speech and we’re… all going to be in that class together, right?” Duncan asked.

“Yep.” Violet said, smiling.

Quigley gave a shit-eating grin. Klaus sighed,

“Ah… great.”

Then, the bell for first period rang. They felt their stomachs drop for a moment. Violet looked from the others, to her schedule, and back,

“I… guess I’ll head to my pre-calculus class…” Her voice cracked slightly.

“Hey, it’s not our fault we suck at math.” Quigley joked, “Besides, I’ll see you next period, right?” He gave the inventor a goofy grin. She only smiled at him, slowly standing up as the others did,

“I know but… I’m scared.”

Isadora sighed, “We’re gonna have to do this at some point or another. Our interests can be pretty varied at the end of the day, y’know?”

“...Not for all of us.” Violet nearly snapped. A plethora of other people were rushing around them, now.

“L-let’s just get to class! I’ll see you in, like, an hour, Vi!” Quigley said, “Don’t even worry about it.”

Violet only nodded, trying her best to smile, but she knew she was going to be all alone.

For a little bit, at least.

As they parted ways, Violet looked at her schedule, then the map, and followed the path Quigley had drawn out, flowing with the traffic of people.

Quigley watched her until she disappeared, and Klaus quickly pulled him along to their algebra 2 class.


	6. [No Fear No More] The one where things seem ok.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My blog - https://hongmoondescendant.tumblr.com/  
H2A AU Violet blog - https://missbuild-a-laire.tumblr.com/

[[No Fear No More]](https://open.spotify.com/track/2TZ9kaTiLewawHZK7yylSC)

Violet looked at each of the passing numbers on the doors, eyeing them carefully, trying not to step on heels or be stepped on herself. She nearly got lost in thought a couple of times, worried about what could happen.

_ You’re all alone, right now, Vi. _ She said to herself, feeling anxiety creep up the back of her neck. _ What if… _

She saw the number of her destination, then breaking off from the flow of other teens, looking carefully at the room as she entered.

“Well, hello! Come on in, welcome to pre-cal! Your assigned seat is up on the board - just look for your name.” A blonde, average sized woman said, smiling at Violet. Violet nodded, smiling back, feeling some of the nervousness leave her. The teacher walked out of the room, Violet then looking up at the projector’s screen, eyeing the desks behind her.

She quickly took her seat, placing her backpack down, taking her phone out, looking at the group chat.

No new messages.

_ Oh. _

_ They’re probably… having fun without me. Probably. _

Violet’s depressed thoughts were interrupted by some loud laughter near the front of the room.

Three boys sat together. Two of them were short, one blonde and pale, the other dark skinned and wearing glasses. The third was tall and pale, and wore a goofy smile on his face.

“Bears, stop- Stop trying to fuck with me like that- _ Mrs. B? Mrs. B I’m being attacked by a little man-” _The tall boy joked. The one with glasses looked at him, “She’s not here; You’re at his mercy, Kristopher.”

“I have no mercy.” The blonde boy replied, his voice faking viciousness.

“Y’all better stop.” A short, dark skinned girl called from the doorway, walking in. The three boys immediately stopped to smile at her,

“_ LYRA!!” _They shouted in her direction, the boy with glasses jumping up. Lyra braced herself for impact, holding her hands out, “Have at ye, Nevon.” She called out as Nevon locked hands with her, and they began to push their palms in playful battle.

Violet couldn’t help but giggle. They reminded her of she and her own friends.

Her stomach dropped again.

Lyra couldn’t help but notice Violet’s semi-sad look,

“Hey, you new?”

This shook the inventor from her thoughts, “I-uh, y-yeah! Yeah. I’m… uh…”

_ You’re safe here. _

Something seemed to call to her deep within her conscious.

“...Violet. Violet Baudelaire.”

Lyra smiled, Nevon releasing his grip and bowing playfully, “I’m Nevon, that’s Lyra, short bastard is Barriston, and tall bastard is Kriss.”

Violet smiled at them, Kriss waved, “‘Suuup.” He mocked.

Lyra glanced at them, “We call Barriston 'Bears', though. Where’re you from?”

Violet felt her blood run cold,

“Well, far… far from here.”

Bears blinked.

“It’s okay if you don’t wanna talk about it.” Kriss said as Lyra looked at the board. Violet smiled at him. _ They seem like nice people. _

“Hey, Baudelaire, I’m next to you!” Lyra said happily. Nevon scoffed, “While you guys get people you know, I’m stuck surrounded by people I do _ not _know-- how do you expect me to flick Kriss in the back of the head from all the way across the classroom?”

Lyra snorted, “You’ll find a way. You always do, buddy.”

Violet giggled again as Lyra sat next to her.

The bell rang minutes later, the teacher returning. She introduced herself as Mrs. Beani, and welcomed them to their sophomore year’s pre-calculus class. Violet felt better as the class went on, and during the wrap up portion of the class, she chatted and laughed happily with her newest friends.

She couldn’t wait to introduce them to Klaus and the Quagmires.

The bell rang for passing period, and she bid them farewell. Hopefully she’d find them during lunch.

Violet’s mood got even brighter when she remembered she shared second period with Quigley, and she quickly rushed to her english 2 class.

* * *

“_ ViioooleeEEEET.” _Quigley said loudly over the noise in the class as she walked in, then smiling wildly, “Quig!!!”

“See? You survived! Isn’t that just fucking epic?” Quigley said, nudging a girl beside him, who laughed. Violet blinked at her, “Who’s this?”

The girl waved-- she had white hair and purple eyes, “I’m Kirin! Kirin Setti. I met Quigley and your other friends in first period.” She explained, “Quigley wouldn’t shut up about you.” Kirin then laughed. Quigley blushed.

Violet smiled at him, sitting down beside him, “Oh, yeah?”

He cleared his throat, “That’s because you have Epic Gaymer Energies, babe”

“Never say that again or I’ll pummel you.” Violet gave him a playful warning look.

“Do it, pussy,” Quigley mocked, “You won’t.”

Kirin giggled loudly.

Class started and went on. Clearly, the three of them weren’t huge fans of english, but it seemed like this class would be simple enough.

After the introduction lecture, the teacher let them talk amongst themselves and look over their supply lists.

“Your brother is remarkable, by the way.” Kirin joked at Violet, “He’s an _ absolute genius _when it comes to math.” 

Violet snorted, “Oh, most definitely.”

“He fucked up PEMDAS, who _ does _that?” Quigley grinned.

“...You do, sweetie.” Violet raised her eyebrows at him. The cartographer pursed his lips as Kirin began to giggle again.

* * *

Klaus and Isadora sat in one of the temporaries for their health class. They huddled themselves into two corner desks, looking around at the upperclassmen who were clearly just trying to take this required class to get it over with.

“...This is definitely a blowoff class.” Klaus said to her. The room was noisy, but their corner made it easier for them to hear each other. “That may be true,” Isadora began, “But Coach Tuwa seems to care about us few.”

Klaus nodded, “The ones who actually give a shit, that is.”

Isadora grumbled, “I’m just worried about the _ obvious _unit.”

Klaus’s face flushed, “Ah, right, that…” Isadora nodded, “You should be lucky the others didn’t take this class this semester.”

Klaus blinked quickly, realizing the bullet he dodged with sharing this class with his sister and her feral… boyfriend? Were they together? He thought so… they made it super obvious but…

Isadora spoke up, snapping him out of his daydreams, “At least the class is easy. Tuwa _ is _still a coach, after all.”

“That’s true.” Klaus replied.

“You do know we’re gonna have to take PE eventually, right?” Isadora asked, “It’s a required class.”

“Shut up don’t remind me.” Klaus said quickly.

“It’s just a one semester class, though. We could all take it next semester and get it over with!” Isadora smiled, “That’d be fun, right?”

Klaus gave her a _ look, _“Two. Fucking. Words.” The bookworm said, then bringing up a hand, “Violet. Dodgeball.” Which caused Isadora to snort.

* * *

The bell for third period rang, and the hustle and bustle of the first A day continued. Violet, Quigley, and Kirin bid each other farewell. “Remember the lunch spot!” Quigley called to her, “Kirin and her friends will be there, too!”

Violet nodded, smiling.

Klaus and Isadora made it to their chemistry class, Duncan arriving soon after. They met Kirin’s twin, Polani, who had the same white hair, but her purple eyes were hidden by long bangs. She was a quieter version of Kirin, a mysterious girl, but still good to get along with.

Violet breathed deeply. She was going to be alone again… unless a new friend she’d met was going to be in her choir class…

Something felt a little… off, though. She didn’t know why. But, she tried to shrug it off.

_ You’re safe here. _There was that reassuring little voice again, deep inside…

She made her way down the hallway, up the stairs, and past the spot they’d meet for lunch at, then entering two large, wooden double doors with tall, skinny glass windows on either side.

_ So this is the music hall. Good. I’m not lost. _Violet thought, then looking to her immediate left, seeing the heavy wooden doors to the choir room. She took a short breath and went to open the door, when it opened--

“Oh, sorry, hun! I was just gonna prop the door open. Come on in!” A short, pretty woman said. Violet smiled slightly, “Oh, th-thank you.”

The woman smiled at her as Violet moved past, the inventor taking in the sudden cacophony of noise and movement-

On the built in stands, there sat, stood, moved… a lot of students. At least 30 or so. Maybe? She couldn’t tell. The piano at the front of the room was currently being played on, starting and stopping. There was laughter, loud chatter, friends reuniting. There was also some singing happening…

Yep, this was definitely a choir class.

_ I don’t even know if I can even fucking sing that well why did I do this what the fuck- _

Violet thought to herself quickly, scanning the crowd. Suddenly, she saw a familiar girl run toward her-

“Oh, Kiki, thank _ fuck-” _Violet sighed, grinning. Kirin squealed, “We’re in choir together!! This is so great!!” Violet nodded, “I thought I was going to be all alone in here! I only joined because my mom could sing and I thought I could… y’know.”

Kirin giggled excitedly, “I can’t wait to hear you sing!”

Violet swallowed, “So… where do we… sit, exactly?”

Kirin shrugged, “Wherever, I guess. We’ll be auditioning for our spots and moving around for a few weeks, I bet.”

Violet’s heart nearly dropped, “Aud-auditioning?”

“Well, yeah.” Kirin said, “They gotta know if you’re an alto or a soprano, y’know? I’m shit at reading music, so they’ll probably just make me do the scales.” She giggled. Violet grit her teeth for a second, “Suddenly I’m frightened.”

Kirin stopped, giving Violet a sure, gentle stare, “You’ve got this. If you got to this point, you’ve got this in spades.”

Violet only nodded, feeling slightly better. Kirin smiled and lead her to the stands.

As the girls sat down and Kirin waved to some acquaintances, Violet suddenly noticed something,

_ “If you got to this point-” _

Wh-what did she mean by that? Did Kirin know? Well, Lemony _ did _write those books, but…

She physically shook her head slightly, _ Don’t freak out over something so small. It’s fine. You’re fine. _

_ You’re safe here. _She sighed.

Just before the bell rang, a short girl skipped through the door, being followed by a tall, bearded man. She grinned at him, and he only crossed his arms.

Violet felt her blood run _ ice cold. _

“No… no fucking way… no, no, no…” Violet whispered in panic, then holding up her thin, black choir binder in front of her face,

“K-_ Kirin!” _ Violet whispered desperately to the white-haired girl, “ _ KIRIN!” _She hissed, tugging at her arm. Kirin turned to her, “What-what’s wrong?”

“_ Do you see that girl? That short red-headed girl?” _Violet hissed.

“...Yeah?”

“Her name is Carmelita. She... “ Violet tried to find the right way to describe or even…

“She was a _ bully… _for my siblings and I…” She attempted, wincing.

Kirin’s eyes widened, “Oh, shit, on God?”

Violet could only nod, “P-pretty much…” She breathed, “Just… we need to… make sure she doesn’t see me. All hell could break loose.”

“That’ll be pretty hard considering how you’re gonna have to sing later and whatnot.” Kirin whispered to her. Violet cornered her eyes. _ Fuck. _

As this happened, the two instructors, Mrs. Luv and Miss Mui came out to get things ready for their introductory, the bearded man seeing off Carmelita. The... bearded man was the same one as…

_ This can’t be happening. _

There were so many other people in this room. She couldn’t possibly single her out. Kirin may have pure white hair, but other people here had weird hair colors. Hell, even Miss Mui had pastel blue hair!

Violet slowly brought down the binder as Carmelita skipped over to a group of girls who happily greeted her, and she did the same. She was wearing some white-washed shorts and a soft pink off-shoulder sweater.

Something seemed… different about her, though?

She didn’t treat these girls like lackeys. She wasn’t wearing something outlandish. Her curly hair was pulled up into two very messy buns. 

“...Are you sure that’s the girl who bullied y’all?” Kirin asked carefully. Violet slowly shook her head,

“I… I’m not even sure myself..?”

Kirin simply looked at her.

“I mean… it’s been… a _ while _but… if that really is her… then how did she get… here?” Violet whispered. As class began, Violet continued to steal glances at the red-head, nervously chewing at her lip.

They weren’t going to fucking believe this.

* * *

As soon as class ended, Violet ran out of the choir room, dragging Kirin with her, and making her way directly to their chosen lunch spot,

“I’m fucking freaking out? I don’t get it? I’m so fucking confused. I’m-” Violet said. They came upon two large benches in the center of two rows of lockers up against the back and left side walls, making a nice little nook. Kirin cut her short, sitting her down on the 1st bench, farthest from the back wall, “Vi, listen, I’m sure it’ll be fine. This school is huge, there’s a ton of people! What are the odds of you guys even meeting face to face?” The girl tried to reassure her.

Violet glared at Kirin, “Don’t you _ dare _fucking tempt fate like that, holy shit.”

Kirin only laughed slightly.

Minutes later, Bears, Kriss, and Lyra came up, Kirin greeting them happily, hugging Kriss tightly. Klaus, Isadora, Duncan, and Polani came soon after, and they all introduced themselves.

“L-listen,” Violet began, trying to find a lull in their conversation, “You… you won’t believe me for a second, probably, but,” She swallowed, “I saw… I saw Carmelita in Kiki and I’s choir class.”

Klaus stopped chewing. Quigley blinked at her. Isadora drew in a sharp breath. Duncan laughed nervously,

“N-no way, stop fucking with us, Vi, that’s some scary shit-”

“She’s straight serious.” Kirin said, “She was terrified, I could tell.”

Klaus swallowed, then swore. Duncan and Quigley looked at each other with a mix of fear and confusion. Isadora looked from Kirin to Violet, “She’s… she’s gotta be a freshmen, right? Wasn’t she the same age as Klaus?”

“Yeah. They’re… both fourteen, now…” Violet said.

“What are the fucking _ odds!” _Quigley laughed nervously.

“What’s poppin’, losers?” A short haired, dirty blonde girl came up to them. Kriss greeted her. Abbie was her name. She was a jovial girl, quirky. Klaus brought his sister and the Quagmire’s attention back, saying they shouldn’t worry about it now. Kirin agreed, repeating what she had said to Violet before.

A few others arrived, and they soon learned that these people had congregated here since last year, thus dubbing it “The Spot™️”. 

Winter came, she was a short pudgy girl. She was in band, and had a knack for creating chaos, she loved to laugh. Her boyfriend, Aimyn, a thin, tan boy as tall as Kriss, who was like Winter in aspects of chaos.

There was another set of twins, Tavon and Tulay. They were average height, dark hair, and Tulay had glasses. Tavon was a loud boy, and loved doing comedic bits with his sister and Kriss.

Then came Red, a pale boy with a plethora of freckles and a pixie cut with dark green streaks. Another girl named Gabrielle, who Kirin and Polani were close friends with - they called her Gabbie. She was about Kirin and Polani's height, and had long, dark hair, and an excited aura surrounded her. Another Gabrielle came along, but she was completely different from Gabbie. She was called Gab, and had short, bright red hair. She was a rebellious one, constantly fucked with the others in friendly ways. She was always with Lyra or Abbie.

Finally, two tall, large boys came. Raymen and Patrick. The two boys were troublemakers, but Raymen was worse than Patrick by a longshot.

All of these were described by Kirin as they came along, who greeted all of them with all the joy her heart could offer.

With such an abundance of people, the Baudelaire and Quagmire teens soon forgot all about Carmelita. Laughter was abundant, and they easily got along with everyone there.

Before they knew it, it was time to leave for fourth period, the final class of the day. The group all bid each other farewell, all except for our five, who happily went down the stairs near The Spot™️ to the language hall.

“I already know a ton of Latin, so this should be a piece of-” Quigley began,

“Bet.” Klaus cut him off, “I probably know far more than you, and I’ve got it all memorized.” The bookworm said, tapping the side of his head.

“...Mmmk fuck you too, buddy boy.” Quigley spat back. Violet grinned, “_ Plucky _boy.” She corrected.

Klaus gave his sister a hard glare as the others began to laugh, then entering their Latin classroom.

Between Miss Illiana introducing the course to the class, the five giggled and talked about their day, then suddenly falling back on what they would do about Carmelita and the bearded man.

“Do you think he’s related to her?” Klaus asked.

“No shit, dumbshit, they’re both redheads.” Violet replied, punching his arm gently, to which he gave an annoyed “_ Ow!” _in response. He glared at her, “That doesn’t mean a fuckin’ thing-”

“I mean, you _ did _say she seemed different, right?” Duncan said carefully, cutting Klaus off. Violet rolled her eyes, nodding, “But that doesn’t mean-”

“It could, though.” Isadora said quickly, “Maybe she’s not a little shit any more.”

The others looked at her.

“What..? I just… I just want her to be better, y’know?”

Violet sighed.

Isadora was right, and they all knew it. Carmelita deserved better. The poor girl was ignored by her parents, then brainwashed on several occasions by different people, all for the sake of getting _ some _sort of “positive” attention.

Maybe the bearded man was the only closest relative she had left, and maybe, just maybe? He was the only good _ influence _ she had left.

Maybe.

“Whatever,” Quigley said suddenly, “It’s like Kiki said - what’re the odds of us being in the same class as her?”

“Don’t fucking say thAT-” Violet began again, going to slap a hand over his mouth. The boy only laughed, and Klaus smirked, rolling his eyes.

“Hey, when d’you think club signups are?” Duncan asked, “I know the school has a newspaper, and I want _ in.” _

“Prolly soon.” Violet replied, “I know I kinda wanna join a club or something… maybe.”

“Any club you join, I’m in.” Quigley announced. Duncan snorted, “Of course you are, lover boy.”

Quigley slugged his brother in the arm, “Shut up, dumb-of-ass, you probably feel the same way about Klaus.”

Duncan grit his teeth and slapped the back of Quigley’s head, Klaus grinning at them. Isadora blew her hair out of her face while Violet laughed.

* * *

“So,” Lemony said over the dinner table that night, “How was school? Other than Carmelita showing up.”

“It was… pretty ok.” Violet said, smiling slightly, “We met a lot of cool people, and the teachers actually seem to care.”

“It’s chaotic as hell, though.” Klaus said after he swallowed, “I don’t know how many times I saw somebody bolt down one of the hallways during lunch.”

“I wanna go…” Sunny said sadly, tapping her fork on her plate. Violet giggled, “Maybe you can visit one day, who knows!”

Lemony cleared his throat, “Out of the question, if you’re _ all _in the same place, the world will end.” 

Sunny grumbled at him.

“Bet.” Violet said, “How was your class?” She said quickly, changing the subject before the Snicket man could object.

Lemony sighed, “This is going to be a very long year.” Klaus snorted.

Violet gave a devious grin, “Fun fact you probably already know: You’re gonna have to deal with _ us _tomorrow in your speech class.” Klaus shot her a look.

Bea II was looking from person to person, as if she was watching a _ very _heated tennis match.

“Don’t remind me.” Lemony said, “By the way, don’t hold your breath.”

Violet and Klaus looked at him.

“Heh?” Violet asked, raising one eyebrow.

“You won’t be the only ones causing chaos tomorrow, I’m sure.” Lemony replied, then sipping his tea.

Violet looked at him, “S’that a _ challenge, _lemon man?” Klaus threw his napkin at her, and she giggled. “Ah!!” Sunny yelped, “No throwing things at the dinner table!!”

“No, no!” Bea II agreed, slapping her little hands on her highchair table. Lemony smiled at the little one.


	7. [No Fear No More] The one where- hey what the fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My blog - https://hongmoondescendant.tumblr.com/  
H2A AU Violet blog - https://missbuild-a-laire.tumblr.com/

[[No Fear No More]](https://open.spotify.com/track/2TZ9kaTiLewawHZK7yylSC)

“WAKEY WAKEY EGGS AND **HELL**.” Quigley announced, busting into Violet’s room. The inventor groaned, slapping her hand down onto her phone and looking at the time-

“I had three more minutes until I had to _ actually _wake up, sweetheart, wh-”

“Two minutes, now, actually, now get up.” Quigley playfully corrected her, “Time for our first B day of the school year - the second day of school!”

Klaus shoved the feral cartographer to the side, “Uh huh, yeah, another day of endless introductions and teachers telling us their life-story as if some of those kids give a shit.”

Violet’s muffled laughter came from her face in a pillow.

“Get up, fuckhead, we gotta get ready.” Quigley said after giving Klaus a look.

* * *

“You keep tempting fate and I don’t think that’s-” Violet began as they walked to The Spot™️ to wait for morning classes to start,

“Up shut your fuck, it’s gonna be fine, there’s legit no way we’d be in more than one class with Carm.” Duncan said aloud. Isadora only sighed.

“_ See!? _ See? Isa agrees with me.” Violet complained. Klaus grumbled, Quigley wrapping an arm around Violet’s shoulder, shaking her slightly. Bears and Nevon ran past them.

“What the fucking h?” Klaus said. Kriss walked quickly ahead of them, turning backwards for a moment, “Normal stuff, don’t worry ‘bout it.” Then continuing to follow the boys.

“I think you two have some challengers for the ‘Most Feral In The Group’ title.” Isadora noted, looking at Violet and Quigley.

“Nevon definitely seems more feral than Bears.” Quigley said, touching a finger to his chin mockingly. Violet nodded, “Very true, my good bitch. But, are we more feral than Nevon?”

“Possibly not.” Quigley noted.

“I don’t know about that.” Klaus grumbled.

* * *

The day was mostly the same, more introductions, some of them ending up alone in some classes, though they had some of their new friends, other times ending up together in one way or another.

Violet and Quigley enjoyed their time in their art class. Miss Allimar was a genuine woman, kind and warm-hearted. Violet and Quigley weren’t exactly used to drawing anything that wasn't catered to their interests, but hell if they wouldn’t try. Violet enjoyed making little doodles in her warm up sketchbook.

However… the day soon became weird once Duncan and Isadora had settled into their creative writing class. Though they enjoyed the company of Patrick and Polani, just as the bell rang…

“_ Oh-sonofaBITCH, you’ve gotta be _ ** _FUCKING _ ** _ with me-” _Duncan hissed, seeing Carmelita slip through the door. Miss May warned her that after the first week was through, she better be on time, or she’d be locked out. Carmelita only nodded, apologizing profusely.

..._ Apologizing? _

_ What? _

_ Was that actually Carmelita, then? _

Isadora blinked at her. Duncan grabbed Polani’s arm,

“There, here, that’s Carm, see? No, don’t look for too long, but do you see her? Don’t stare, though-!”

“Enough.” Polani sighed, “I know you’re worried, but she might not even _ remember _you.” Patrick nodded, “She might have gotten some, like, therapy or somethin’, y’know?”

Isadora looked at Duncan gently. The journalist only sighed. He then looked carefully over the shoulder of the student in front of him, looking at Carm on the other side of the room.

Then their eyes met.

Duncan felt his blood turn to _ ice. _

_ SHIT. FUCK. SHIT. LOOK AWAY YOU IDIOT, SONOFA _ ** _BITCH_ ** _ \- _

Carmelita suddenly looked _ nervous, _with a mix of surprise, and quickly looked away before Duncan could, turning back to someone next to her and gabbing away, as if nothing had happened.

Isadora eyed Duncan,

“She’s trying to avoid us.”

“I mean, probably?” Duncan said weakly, “Why would she be, though?”

“Patrick,” Polani began, “Isn’t she speaking with one of your friends?”

Patrick blinked, “He’s not a friend, more of an _ acquaintance, _but, I do know him, yes.”

“Then by a sort of screwed up proxy, _ we _ know Carmelita,” Polani went on, “Not the old one, but the _ new _one, who doesn’t seem to be as awful as the Baudelaires and Quagmires knew her to be.”

Patrick only looked at the writer.

“What?” He said finally.

Polani sighed, “I am _ kidding, _clearly.”

“I can never tell.” Patrick replied.

Duncan was in the middle of having a quiet, confused freak out, while Isadora sat, stealing sneaky glances at Carmelita.

_ What on Earth..? _

Duncan suddenly grabbed Isadora’s arm,

“We’re going to the nurse’s office, come on.” Duncan said, “We need to get out of here. That’s the only excuse we’ve got.”

Isadora gave him a worried look, “D-Duncan, we can’t be afraid of her.”

“I’m not afraid, alright? I’m not - just - let’s go.” The journalist argued with his sister.

She sighed and obliged, heading to the teacher’s desk with him.

* * *

As the two triplets walked through the empty halls, they argued about what to do. Clearly, Lemony had figured this out, but why wasn’t he freaking out about it?

What in the hell was going _ on? _

“There’s gotta be a good explanation for this, right?” Duncan said, “Like-”

Isadora gave him a stern look, “Sometimes life doesn’t have to make sense. By now, _we_ should know that.”

Duncan gave up by this point.

They continued to walk in silence, entering the registration office. The nurse’s office was within, and the awkward quietness was almost deafening to them.

The two walked in, seeing two nurses sitting at their desks, one of them got up, telling the other they’d be back- they needed to take a call.

The woman greeted them, then left through the doorway behind them.

“Uh,” Duncan began, looking around the room, “I’ve got a stress headache…” He lied. Isadora cornered her eyes.

The other nurse turned to them, and the two triplets’ eyes widened,

“‘Sorry to hear that, brother! If you need to lie down in one of the side rooms, you certainly can. I can’t give you any ibuprofen without a guardian’s note, however.” The bearded man said gently. Duncan only nodded carefully, “Th-thanks.”

“No problem. Please, tell me if you need anything.” He said, then turning back to his computer.

Isadora pushed Duncan into the dark side room, sitting down beside each other on the padded bed.

“That’s the red-headed bearded man Vi and Klaus talked about, right?” The poet whispered to her brother. He nodded, “He’s the fucking head nurse?”

“He must not be brainwashed any more? I mean, but like-” Isadora stuttered.

“We can’t worry about it right now. We need to - I don’t know what’s going on!?” Duncan whispered desperately, “I’m so confused, and kinda scared? Why are they _ here?” _

Isadora grabbed onto his shoulder, staring at him, “Clearly, they’re here for the same reason we are - safety. Carmelita’s changed, so has he.”

“But how do you _ know _that?” Duncan hissed.

Isadora sighed,

“Just a hunch.”

* * *

Lunch was as lively as the day before, but this time the elder Baudelaires and the Quagmires sat closely together, talking about what the hell they were going to do about Carmelita.

“What the fuck do we do, _ talk to her!?” _ Klaus said, his eyes wide. Violet grit her teeth for a second, “Oh, _ sure,” _She began, throwing her head back, “Hey, Carm, how’s’it? Remember that time when you bullied us and the other time when you nearly had us killed or someshit?”

Klaus rolled his eyes, and Duncan swallowed hard.

Isadora furrowed her brows,

“That’s enough.”

Violet glared at her.

“Don’t give me that look, Baudelaire.” Isadora said firmly, “We’re trying to turn over a new leaf, here. Carm’s trying to as well.”

“At least so we _ think _she is.” Quigley argued.

“Fucking. Shut it.” Isadora glowered at her brother.

Violet slumped into Quigley in exhaustion, “I don’t even fucking _ care _any more,” She whined, “Whatever happens happens. We should just get it over with.”

Klaus and Duncan both snorted, Klaus laughing, “YOU can! YOU can talk to the _ little demon-!” _

“_ KLAUS _.” Isadora said loudly. The bookworm stopped, closing his mouth ashamed.

The poet then glanced at Violet, “She’s right. The _ least _we could do is talk to her. Get on good terms with each other.”

The boys grumbled at her.

“Don’t fucking start with me, again.” She said. Violet sighed.

* * *

“Let’s go fuck with Lemony, nerds.” Quigley said as they walked down the hall. Violet giggled as Klaus let out a deep sigh, “Can we just… give the man a break?”

“Not while Violet and Quigley remain at large.” Isadora said carefully. Violet nodded, “Damn right, bitch.”

The group entered Lemony’s classroom, and saw him sitting at his desk, staring at his phone with a bored expression.

A few other students were seated or gathered around their own friends, chattering loudly.

Lemony’s room consisted of stacks of books, the short bookshelves he had overflowing with more books. The window by his desk was covered with a sheer curtain, and an old typewriter sat near it, clearly just for display. There were a few posters on the walls, mostly of famous writers and poets, another of a list of banned books (Displayed mockingly.), and a cork board on the wall behind his desk with various schedules and dates for school events.

“LEMONS MAN.” Violet shouted, causing Lemony to look up at her tiredly.

“_ Ever your mother.” _Lemony muttered under his breath, “Good afternoon, kids. Don’t cause trouble, I’ve got the power to send you to the office.”

“You won’t.” Quigley tempted him, grinning.

“What is that word you teenagers use these days..? _ Bet?” _Lemony said carefully, causing Klaus to pull the cackling cartographer to the desks.

“Don’t raise hell, dude.” Duncan said loudly, “Not yet, anyways.” He lowered his voice to his brother, who smirked.

Some of the other students laughed at their exchange. One asked if they knew Mr. Snicket. Violet answered that he was actually one of their guardians, so they were _ legally obligated _ to mess with him.

Lemony only sighed.

As the five talked among themselves, Lemony looked up to see a certain red-headed girl walk in with some other students, laughing loudly. She stopped suddenly when she saw the five, and swallowed.

Lemony looked from her to the five and back. One of the students asked if she was ok, and she quickly looked to them, “Y-yeah! I’m good!”

“This will be… interesting.” Lemony whispered, quickly tapping at his phone.

“You look super pale, Carmy, you good?” One of the girls asked. Carmelita sighed,

“Oh, I’m gucci, I’ve just got to get some more sun, y’know?” She giggled. The others agreed, then gabbing more. Carmelita slowly looked at the others.

_ They look… so happy… _

_ Do they even remember me? _

_ Would they even want to talk to me? _

_ After… _

_ Everything I’ve… done? _

She felt herself tighten. The bell rang. Lemony slowly got up and went to the door, letting in any stragglers, telling them they’ll be locked out after this week is over if they’re not on time, and closed it.

“Alright, then,” Lemony said, walking to the front of the room, “My name is Lemony Snicket, you might have heard of me, you might have not. Either way, I’ll be your speech teacher for this semester.”

Violet slapped Quigley on the back of the head as they turned to face Lemony. The cartographer pinched her arm, and the inventor smacked his hand. Klaus flicked the back of both their heads. Isadora giggled.

Lemony eyed them for a second before continuing, “Call me Mr. Snicket. Yes, I know my forename is quite preternatural, a word here in which means ‘beyond what is normal or natural’, but I invite you to know that there are far more interesting names in this world than mine.”

Carmelita blinked at him as she heard the clear snickers of the five over the giggling of the other students.

“Do those other kids know him?” Carmelita whispered to someone. They replied with a yes - he was one of their guardians - one of the girls in that group had explained. The performer felt small, suddenly. Like she’d lost this game even more. Was she even playing a game in the first place? If she was, why was she even trying to win?

_ What _was she trying to win?

“Now, I know you might have heard that this is a _ ‘blow off class’, _but I am happy to inform you that this speech class will help aid you in your endeavors with speaking to other people in not only your educational environment, but even your later work environment.” Lemony began to explain.

Violet pursed her lips, giving Quigley a raised-eyebrow look. “_ Ooooh, lookit Mister Lemonsman tryna make this sUper imPORtant.” _Quigley whispered, giggling.

As Lemony’s long winded introduction wore on, Carmelita watched the others out of the corner of her eye, glancing between they and Lemony, feeling a mix of confusion, shame, regret, and other sorrowful emotions.

_ I need to make this right. _ She thought, clenching her jaw. _ I can’t live like this. I’m in classes with them, I need to face them one of these days. Brandon told me this might happen. I need to… _

She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment,

_ I need to… talk to them. _

Eventually, Lemony quit talking. Violet threw her head back, “_ Finally.” _ She said loudly, causing a few cackles and Klaus grabbing her head and shaking it gently. She only laughed. Lemony rose and lowered his eyebrows with an exhausted expression, “This is going to be a… _ very _long semester.”

“It’ll only be that way if you make it that way, Lemon Snickers.” Quigley said. Duncan stifled a laugh.

“Now, what do y’all wanna do after school?” Violet asked, sitting up in her seat, “There’s this mall nearby that has a sick arcade that just opened up.”

“Oh, did they finally find something to replace that bounce house place?” Klaus asked, interested.

“Yep. Apparently _ this _ arcade brings in games all the way from _ Japan, _isn’t that just the sexiest thing you’ve ever heard of?” Violet said, looking back at him. Klaus snorted.

“The fucking hottest, we should definitely go there - should we run by Wendy’s or something on the way there?” Quigley asked.

Isadora yawned, “Weedy’s, old fashioned hurgusburgus.” Violet nearly lost her mind, “I cAn’t BELieEEEve you remEMBER that!?”

“It’s fucking funny, how can I not?” Isadora replied.

Duncan sighed, “Guess we’re goin’ to weedy’s. Fucking stoner.” Isadora squinted at him,

“Hilarious joke, tell me another one.”

Duncan smirked at her, about to lay out another snarky quip, when a small, nervous voice came from in front of them,

“C-could I, uh, g-go with you guys..?”

Their heads snapped forwards, and Lemony’s eyes shot up from his phone.

Klaus clamped his mouth shut, Duncan’s smirk turned stiff, his eyes surprised as all hell. Klaus pulled at Violet’s hair in urgency, and she smacked it away. Isadora glanced at Duncan, then smiled gently,

“Sure, Carm. It’ll give us some time to catch up.”

* * *

Duncan had given Isadora the hardest side eye Violet had ever seen - even harder than her own brother had given to her. They began to speak with her, unsure at first, but began to feel at ease once Carmelita explained her situation.

She was left with literally nothing after the hotel fire. Esmé was nowhere to be found. Maybe she’d died? Carmelita didn’t know. All the red-head knew was that she was all alone.

That was, until, at the city’s hospital she met a very ragged bearded man who’d just awoken from what seemed like a waking coma.

That was her first cousin, Brandon, who she hadn’t seen in years. Them reuniting was truly a gift. Brandon had said he’d met a man - they’d shared the same room - his name was Kevin. There were two others Kevin was close with - he was as close as family with them. He called them his siblings - Hugo and Colette. Colette happened to be a second cousin to Carmelita.

The four decided it was best to get the _ fuck _out of that city - it wasn’t safe for any of them, especially Carmelita. V.F.D. was still at large, and they were especially angry about the hotel fire.

After escaping, they drove all the way to Luvlind in Brandon’s van, and here they decided to stay, clearly. Brandon and Carmelita were able to find a nice, big flat and they all settled there.

They all began to get therapy, and Carmelita explained she’d been trying her best to get better - become a better person.

The bell had rung, and Carmelita’s friends told her goodbye. She and the five, along with Lemony at his desk, stayed after class and talked a little more.

After a while, there was a lull in the conversation,

“...So… you guys are really trying to patch things up, huh?” Violet asked. Carmelita nodded, “...We’re trying our best. Really hard. Like you guys, are!”

Duncan gave her an understanding look, “Yeah, I get it. I’m sorry I didn’t… say anything to you in class earlier we were just…”

“Shocked, really.” Isadora said. Violet sighed, “I was terrified at first, honestly.”

“That’s ok.” Carmelita nodded, “I get it. I was, too.”

Klaus adjusted his glasses, “It’ll… take us a while to completely trust you guys again, though.”

“I know.” Carmelita replied.

Violet sighed, “I mean, the… _ farm sibs _ you called them? ... _ Did _ try to… _ kill _Klaus and I.”

Klaus swallowed.

“...I know.” Was all Carmelita could return, feeling regret.

“It’ll be fine, though.” Isadora said, “There’s nothing to be fearful of or worry about. We _all_ went through some shit - we need to stick together.”

Carmelita smiled. Klaus shrugged in agreement. Quigley sighed, “I hate it. SO much. When you’re _ right.” _

Isadora gave a taunting smile.

“Shall we get going, then?” Jacquelyn’s voice came from the doorway. The others looked up to see both she and Brandon. Lemony smiled, “Ah, Jacquelyn. There you are.”

Jacquelyn rolled her eyes, “I didn’t know whether to believe those texts or not, Snicket.”

Carmelita smiled at Brandon, “I’m gonna hang out with them for a while, s’that ok, Bran?”

“Sure, cuz. I don’t mind it at all. I’m sure this will be a big surprise to the others, though.” Brandon replied as Lemony packed up his things.

Violet looked at him, “Hey, Lemons, did you know about this the entire time?”

“Perhaps. Why?”

Klaus gave him an irritated look,

“You have the roll. You could have _ told _us this was going to happen. As like. A forewarning, maybe?”

Lemony raised his eyebrows, “You’re a smart lad, Klaus, you know why.” Which only made the bookworm open and close his mouth a few times before the teen admitted defeat.

“Oh, also,” Jacquelyn began, “Another old friend wanted to say hi as well.”

She stepped aside-

“** _LARRY!?_ ** _ ” _The six teens all shouted at once. Lemony smiled,

“Good to see you. How’s the cafeteria holding up?”

Larry smiled, “_ Much _better than Prufrock’s by far.”

* * *

The next few hours were lively and fun. The adults chatted while the kids ran about the arcade with feverish interest. Sunny and Bea II had a fun time with Duncan in a Star Wars shooting game, while Isadora watched Carmelita work her magic on Dance Dance Revolution.

Violet and Klaus came upon a rhythm game called Groove Coaster, and quickly gained interest. Quigley watched Violet carefully, becoming quite interested himself.

“How the fuck are you getting this shit down so quickly!?” Quigley shouted over the arcade’s noise to Violet. The girl only giggled has her hands moved quickly over the buttons, “I’m only trying to beat my brother’s ass.” She shouted back. Klaus cornered his eyes.

* * *

Late that night, Violet lay in her bed, staring at her phone. The group chat was highly active, especially now that Carmelita was added to it. Things were going well. Life was good.

They’d be able to take on anything life had for them.

_ Bring it on, bitch. _Violet thought, and then cackled quietly to herself.


	8. [No Fear No More] The one where there’s one more thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My blog - https://hongmoondescendant.tumblr.com/  
H2A AU Violet blog - https://missbuild-a-laire.tumblr.com/

[[No Fear No More]](https://open.spotify.com/track/2TZ9kaTiLewawHZK7yylSC)

Violet lay across Quigley, Kriss, and Kirin’s laps on the bench during lunch, scrolling through her dashboard. Klaus reminded her several times that a teacher might see her and she might get in trouble, causing her to call him “_ plucky fuck” _several times.

“Why’s your brother got a deal with bein’ called ‘plucky’?” Kriss asked, inspecting the banana in his own hand.

“War flashbacks.” Violet replied absentmindedly.

Kriss shrugged.

After a few minutes of silence (Among the general noise of the busy halls.), Kriss tapped Quigley on the shoulder. The cartographer looked up from his commonplace book and raised his eyebrows at him.

Kriss then proceeded to take a bite out of the banana, peel and all.

Quigley lost his _ entire _shit, laughing loudly. Violet looked up to see Kriss with his mouth full, and a bitten banana in his hand.

“..._ Bruh.” _Violet said before giggling. Kirin only sighed. A few others came over with various reactions, Kriss spitting out the banana bit in his hand. “Was it worth it for the joke?” Klaus asked as Carmelita was cackling hysterically beside him.

After lunch was over, the five bid the others farewell and headed to their latin class.

“We’re going to First Event tonight, right?” Duncan asked. Klaus nodded. Violet blinked at them,

“First Event?”

Isadora looked at her, “Shows how much you pay attention - don’t give me that look - First Event is literally the _ first event _of the school year, apparently. They sell food, there’s mini games, and clubs line up in the gyms for sign-ups.”

“Oh. Epic. Ok.” Violet replied, then looking to Duncan, “I’m guessing you’re going to try and find the newspaper club? And possibly the yearbook club?”

“Most definitely.” Duncan replied, smiling, “I might also join band, I’d like to try the saxophone.”

Quigley tried to keep himself from laughing.

“You?” Klaus rose his eyebrows at him, “Play an instrument?” Isadora began to giggle.

“Shut up, I totally could, and there’s no harm in trying - _ Violet don’t be a bitch.” _Duncan snipped.

“Uuuh _ huh. _Sure.” Violet replied. Klaus chuckled, “I agree with Violet for once.”

Quigley began to laugh, finally. Duncan glared at him, slugging him in the arm.

“Punch buggy bitch.” Violet couldn’t help but say.

* * *

“Come ON we need to _ GO.” _Klaus yelled at his sister and Quigley, who were currently playing with Pickles.

“_ Who’s a stinkey widdle babey?” _Violet said sweetly to the jack russell in her arms, who growled playfully as Quigley tickled the pup.

“She stinkey. She. Smelley.” Qiugley cooed.

Klaus sighed deeply.

As soon as the others were ready, they all hopped into the van and made their way back to Mayhem for the first event of the school year, First Event.

Redundant, I know.

Lemony let them run free, and of course, the first thing they did was get food.

And _ then _they went to club sign-ups.

Violet and Quigley decided it’d be fun to join the art club, Isadora joined the poetry club. Klaus joined the book club, and Duncan joined newspaper, yearbook, and looked into band. Turns out, band was an actual _ class, _so he decided he’d start band next semester (But that wouldn't stop him from getting a saxophone before then, however.).

“Poor baby boy can’t be in band blass.” Violet said playfully, pulling at Duncan’s cheek.

Duncan pushed at her arm as Klaus looked at his sister accusingly, “_ Blass?” _

“I had to find something to finish the alliteration but couldn’t so y’know yeah.” Violet rambled. Quigley giggled.

Isadora cornered her eyes.

“Blass sounds like a combination of the words blast and ass.” Quigley said.

“Ass blasting good time.” Violet grinned.

“Blassing good time.” Duncan offered.

“Something like that.” Klaus sighed at them, tired.

* * *

As the first week of school finished, our five, now six, were excited about what the next week would bring, as this is when clubs would start.

Though, for some reason, Klaus and Isadora felt a little more nervous than usual.

“Hey hon, you good?” Carmelita asked the poet in their creative writing class.

Isadora snapped out of her dissociative state and looked at the red-head, who’s arm was currently being written on by Duncan.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine..? Why?”

Carmelita blinked, “You were just kinda… spacin’ out there for a sec, y’know?”

Isadora swallowed, looking down at her commonplace book,

_ Something calling out / My heart hurts with doubt _

_ Or is that my head? / Feelings of dread… _

She sighed, reading over the words she’d written.

“I will... be fine.”

Duncan looked up at her, “You can talk about it if you want to.” Carmelita nodded.

Isadora blinked, “I-”

She thought for a moment.

“I’m just worried about our club meetings, that’s all. I feel like something is going to happen, and I don’t know what.”

Duncan put the cap on his marker, “And that’s making you… anxious, I guess?”

Isadora only nodded.

“Yeah, I get that.” Carmelita said gently.

Duncan gave his sister a warm smile, “We’ll be ok. Don’t worry about it.”

* * *

Lunch arrived,

“REAL. CLUB. HOURS.” Violet shouted at Quigley as they ran off from The Spot™️ to their art club. A few of the others followed them.

Klaus and Isadora headed reluctantly headed downstairs to the library for their clubs.

“...Are you worried, too?” Isadora asked the bookworm. He sighed,

“Y-yeah. Kinda. Maybe? I… don’t know.”

Isadora smiled, “It’ll be ok, I’m sure. It’s just nerves. We don’t need to fear anything any more.”

Klaus gave the poet a nervous smile.

As they entered the library, Klaus felt some relief. The teen always felt some sort of relief when it came to the smell of books, and the quiet that came with them.

A student assistant told them the book club was to the left gathering of tables, and the poetry club was to the right far gathering of tables. The two friends saw each other off, and Klaus quickly made his way over to the book club.

There were only a couple or so other students - he was early, he supposed. He walked over to an empty table and sat down, placing his backpack in front of him.

Klaus looked at his surroundings, all the books, the few people, the projector screen at the front of the room, “_ Welcome to Bookclub!” _it said. He adjusted his glasses to read the smaller quote under it,

_ “A library is like an island in the middle of a vast sea of ignorance, particularly if the library is very tall and the surrounding area has been flooded.” _

Klaus felt his breathing stop short for a moment. He looked around frantically, then to the front again, seeing the only adult in the room - her back was turned, but her dark hair was up in a loose bun, a headband with two soft roses on her head. She wore a large, comfy looking shawl, and dark leggings with ballet flats.

Klaus slowly got up and carefully made his way over to the woman,

_ This can’t be real, right? _

_ There’s… no way… _

“..._ Olivia?” _

The woman turned to him, and her eyes looked at him through familiar pair of cat-eye frames,

“K-Klaus?”

The bookworm almost felt like crying, out of pure joy or relief, he couldn’t tell. He didn’t care, either. He latched onto her, hugging her tightly, trying not to burst into tears.

Olivia hugged him back, tightly, like a mother hugging her child.

“I thought… I thought you…” Klaus said quietly.

Olivia smiled, “Died? Me too.”

Klaus pulled back, “But, w-we saw you! We saw you get… get eaten by lions-!”

“I saw the lights move from the pit, though.” Olivia said quietly.

“...So did we… really..?” Klaus said to himself. He shook his head, “How did you escape, then? How did you..?”

“I don’t know. I just… remember passing out from sheer terror, and I woke up in some abandoned apartment room.” Olivia replied, the feeling of confusion washing over her again.

Klaus blinked at her, “That’s… odd.”

He then smiled, “But… you’re here, now! You’re here… and that’s… that’s all that matters…” He laughed gently. Olivia nodded.

“You… and Lemony and Jacquelyn… and Larry and Brandon and Carmelita..?” Klaus rambled on. Olivia blinked, “Oh, God, Carmelita is here?”

Klaus laughed, “N-no, it’s ok! She’s… she’s a lot better, now.”

Olivia laughed, “I’ll believe that when I see it.”

“Holy shit, the others are going to be so fucking happy to see you, I- excuse my language-” Klaus covered his mouth. Olivia giggled, “You’re just fine - _ wait did you say Jacquelyn?” _She said, looking at him wide-eyed.

Klaus slowly nodded.

“She’s taking care of you lot?”

“Well,” Klaus began, “She’s taking care of all of us, yes, but she’s got guardianship of the Quagmires.”

Olivia nearly burst into tears, “_ I thought she was DEAD! _ Oh, my _ God!” _

Klaus smiled, “Would you… like to see her again?”

“Oh, my stars, _ yes!” _Olivia cried, ecstatic. Klaus laughed.

The feeling was a feeling that there would be someone here they knew, from long ago. A good someone.

Olivia.

* * *

[ [Music] ](https://open.spotify.com/track/2TZ9kaTiLewawHZK7yylSC)

  
  


_ I know we're not listened to, but- _

  
  


That afternoon, all the adults and all the kids gathered at Carmelita’s. Olivia and Jacquelyn were glued to each other, and the Farm Sibs talked with Olivia any chance they could get. The Baudelaires received apology after apology from the Farm Sibs, Colette saying she knew it’d take time for them to trust them again, but she’d be willing to help them. Violet understood. Kevin’s legs had been severely injured in the hotel fire, so he was confined to a wheelchair. The bright side was that he got a fluffy collie service dog named Carrie.

  
  


_ You used to tell me not to dream away _

_ Go chase the safety, not the rush _

_ You say this future is a world away _

_ I think you worry way too much _

  
  


Carmelita showed the others the game room in her flat, and they all nearly lost their marbles. It had all sorts of consoles, games, comfy chairs of all sorts, and Carmelita’s merch collection from various games, like Pokemon and Animal Crossing. Little Bea loved a little Animal Crossing plush named Bunnie. Carmelita laughed and said she could have it. Violet nearly hugged the red-head to death.

  
  


_ Just like before _

_ My spirit coming up _

_ What do you talk for? _

_ You'll never make us stop _

_ Beyond the shore _

_ We'll take it to the top _

_ No fear no more _

_ No fear no more _

  
  


Lemony was in shocked surprise to see that Olivia had survived. “Well,” Olivia said, “The tales of my death were… _ slightly exaggerated.” _She joked playfully. Jacquelyn nudged Lemony, and the man shook his head, smiling. Kevin called from the kitchen - he had made some pizzas for dinner with Sunny’s help.

  
  


_ Just like before _

_ My spirit coming up _

_ What do you talk for? _

_ You'll never make us stop _

_ Beyond the shore _

_ We'll take it to the top _

_ No fear no more _

_ No fear no more _

  
  


Violet, Quigley, Duncan, and Carmelita went head to head playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Bea watching them intently. Klaus gave Duncan bites of his pizza while he told the journalist to “Kick Violet’s ass.” To which Violet responded by cackling and yelling “** _I DON’T THINK SO, LITTLE MAN_ ** . _ ” _

Carmelita wasn’t exactly the best at Karting, but she _ was _pretty good at fighting games, to which Quigley tried his best to kick her ass in Smash Ultimate, but to no avail. The feral red-head declared herself “QUEEN OF FIGHTING GAMES”, and Isadora only nodded, cornering her eyes.

  
  


_ I know we're not listened to, but _

_ I know we're not listened to, but _

_ (No fear no more) _

_ I know we're not listened to, but _

_ (No fear no more) _

  
  


Jacquelyn and Olivia stood outside on the porch of the Spats flat, looking at the starry sky above them.

“Beautiful, isn’t it.” Olivia said softly. Jacquelyn nodded.

“It looks _ so _much different when your situation is leagues better.” The librarian spoke.

“It looks brighter.” Jacquelyn commented.

“That it does.”

The two women stood there for a moment.

“...Olivia?” Jacquelyn said.

“Hm?”

“Did you ever think that… you’d end up here? Like this?”

“Did you..?” Olivia asked.

Jacquelyn looked at her, into her eyes. They glittered.

The woman chuckled, “No. Not at all.” Olivia smiled, “I didn’t think so, either.”

“Quite frankly,” Jacquelyn continued, “I thought I’d be dead by now.”

That caused Olivia to giggle softly, laying her head on Jacquelyn’s shoulder,

“We’re here, and we’re alive. And the sky’s the limit, love.”

Jacquelyn smiled and nodded, “Yeah.” She looked up at the moon,

“That it is.”

  
  


_ Just like before _

_ My spirit coming up _

_ What do you talk for? _

_ You'll never make us stop _

_ Beyond the shore _

_ We'll take it to the top _

_ No fear no more_


	9. [Until The Light] The one where old friends are found.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A certain group of nautical acquaintances turns up, and Lemony meets one of them in an unexpected place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My blog - https://hongmoondescendant.tumblr.com/  
H2A AU Violet blog - https://missbuild-a-laire.tumblr.com/

_ _

“Alright, I’m off to the store.” Lemony said, walking into the living room, “If you need anything that you didn’t put on the list before, text me. I can’t read minds.”

“K.” Violet said, staring at the TV. The teen was currently playing Splatoon 2. Again.

Klaus gave Lemony a thumbs up.

“Be safe!” Bea II called sweetly, and Sunny waved. Lemony smiled at them, “I’ll try my best.”

He then left the apartment. Klaus glanced at her,

“We have the apartment to ourselves.”

Violet only nodded, “Yep.”

The door burst open, “WHAT’S UP,  _ FUCKERS?”  _ Quigley shouted, “LEMONY’S GONE YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS-”

“That I’m still here.” Jacquelyn said from behind him, causing the teenage boy to jump in surprise. He turned,

“Hey Jacky, how’re you?” He said, his voice tinged with guilt.

Jacquelyn blinked at him, “You have chores to do. It’s Saturday. Go on, then.” Quigley grumbled, “I’ll be back to bug you guys later, I guess.”

Klaus smiled, shaking his head. Violet stretched, dropping her controller, “Did you do  _ your _ chores, Klaus?”

The bookworm raised an eyebrow, “Yes, did you?”

“ _ Durr.”  _ She said sarcastically, “Y’ain’t gonna catch me dead with a dirty bathroom, bitch.”

Sunny yawned, and Klaus looked at her,

“Y’need a nap, Sunshine?”

The little Baudebaby squinted at him, “No, don’t be ridiculous.” Violet chuckled,

“Gwumpy babey needs a nappy-wappy.”

“Shut.” Sunny simply said. Bea II nodded.

Isadora then walked in, looking at her phone. She rounded the first couch, then sat on the second couch beside Violet,

“I’m getting that weird feeling again.”

Klaus looked at her,

“What?”

“Y’know,” Isadora continued, “The one I got on the first day of our clubs, and we met Olivia again?”

The bookworm nodded.

“That one.”

Violet looked at her, “Hi to you too, sweetie.” Isadora cornered her eyes.

Klaus cleared his throat, “Who else d’you think could be around?”

“‘Dunno.” Isadora answered. She then went silent, her mind running wild.

Klaus only sighed, looking back at the book he was reading. The poet then suddenly got up and left, Violet shrugging and returning to the game.

* * *

Lemony leaned over on the grocery cart, walking slowly down an aisle, tired. He looked at the list, then looked around. This wasn’t the right aisle. Or was it?

_ Hell if I know.  _ He thought. No texts had come from the Baudelaires yet, so he assumed the list was complete.

For now, any way.

He picked up a fairly large can of coffee and placed it into the cart, then maneuvering around several people in the aisle.

_ I should have chosen a better day to do this.  _ He sighed.  _ It’s… far too busy. _

_ I feel… closed in. _

But weekends were the only time he  _ could  _ shop. That, or holiday breaks. Fall break was still far off. It was only September.

He sighed.

“Are you sure? I thought we already got toilet paper.” A familiar voice came from the next aisle over. Lemony slowly came to a stop. Possibly, he could be hearing things. Certainly.

“Alright,  _ alright,  _ sis, I heard you the first time.” The voice came again. He was clearly on the phone with someone.

A sister?

“Has Friday finished her work?” He asked.

_ Friday?  _ Lemony thought. He then slowly rounded the corner into the next aisle.

“Don’t lie on her behalf, Fiona-” The man said. 

_ Fiona? _

He held a phone to his ear. There was something peculiar about his hand, however.

Lemony tried to be discreet.

This man had two prosthetic hands.

“I’ll check it all once I get home, alright?” He paused, then smiled, “‘Love you too, sis. I’ll see you guys in a bit.”

As he ended the call and put the phone down, he moved the cart forward, and bumped right into Lemony’s.

“Oh, gosh, I’m sorry, sir-” The man began-

“L- _ Lemony?” _

“Fernald.” Lemony said quietly, “I see you’re doing better.”

* * *

The two men talked for a while.

Fernald and Fiona had found Friday on the shores of Briny Beach surrounded by poisoned corpses. She was the only one who bit the apple that the Incredibly Deadly Viper came to the boat with - the others had refused due to Ishmael’s words. 

Ishmael was nowhere to be found.

Friday was in absolute pieces. Her mother was dead. She’d lost everything. All she had was Inky and the clothes on her back.

The ex-Snow Scout’s new leader, Maya, told Fernald and Fiona that they’d stay in the city to keep an eye on V.F.D., to which Fiona worriedly argued with her for a good few minutes while Fernald tried to comfort Friday.

Eventually, Fiona gave up, seeing how steadfast Maya was about running an underground revolution group against V.F.D.

Fernald and Fiona decided right then to adopt Friday, and they, along with Inky, left the city.

Eventually, like the others… they came upon Luvlind.

“We found a nice lake house, and we’ve been there ever since. I’ve been homeschooling the girls.” Fernald smiled. Lemony nodded, smiling as well.

Perhaps many others were destined for good endings.

* * *

Violet was dozing lazily on the couch. Klaus sat on the floor in front of the coffee table, staring at his laptop. Sunny and Bea II had gone to their room for a nap.

The door burst open. Again.

“GUYS-  _ GUYS-  _ ** _YOU’RE NOT GONNA F U C K I N G BELIEVE THIS._ ** _ ”  _ Quigley yelled, startling both of the Baudeteens. Violet blinked at him, “...What is it, boy? Speak!”

Klaus snorted, “Timmy stuck in the well, again?”

“ _ Fucking-”  _ Quigley gave them an irritated look, “ISA,  _ GET IN HERE _ .”

Isadora then pushed past her brother, her eyes wild,

“ ** _FIONA’S OK._ ** _ ” _

Violet and Klaus both looked at each other wide-eyed before staring back at the two triplets again,

** _ “WHAT!?”_ **

Isadora nodded feverishly, “FIONA IS OK AND SHE AND FERNALD ARE  _ IN. OUR. AREA!” _

They then all began to collectively freak out, relieved.

* * *

That night, the three came over to the apartments for dinner and a chat. While the adults spoke, the kids had their happy reunion. Once Isadora saw Fiona, her face flushed such a bright red you’d thought the girl had a fever. Fiona giggled at the poet and called her cute, which only sent the Quagmire into a frenzy of giggles.

Friday latched onto the Baudelaires, hugging them as tightly as she possibly could. Violet, holding back tears, hugged her back, holding the small girl close, “We’re  _ so  _ glad you’re ok, Friday…” Friday nodded.

Klaus introduced her to Bea II, and Friday was  _ immediately  _ attached. “I shall protect this little bundle of joy with my life.” The girl said, holding up Bea II, who was giggling. Sunny laughed.

After a while, Friday explained what had happened to the other kids.

“So…” Klaus said after some silence, “They’re…. all…  _ dead _ .”

Friday nodded, “Except… for Ishmael.”

“... _ Bastard.”  _ Violet snarled under her breath. She nearly spat on the floor in anger.

“Well, you’re safe, now. And you’ve got a newer, better family, if you don’t mind me saying?” Duncan said to Friday. She nodded slowly, “Yeah… I… guess you’re right, huh?” She smiled. Fiona gave her new little sister a warm smile, “And I swore to love her like my own flesh and blood.” Friday giggled happily.

“W-we’re just happy you’re ok!” Violet said quickly. Fiona looked at the eldest Baudelaire. She sighed,

“I… I’m sorry about what I did…”

“It’s not your fault.” Violet interrupted her.

“...Come again?” Fiona blinked.

“You did what you had to do. I would have done the same if it was one of my siblings.” Violet explained, “All the while plotting a way to murder Bastard Man™️.”

Fiona chuckled, “I wanted to do that, but Fernald said it probably wasn’t a good idea.”

“My ass.” Isadora spat.

“My thoughts exactly, love.” Fiona complimented her. The poet felt her face grow hot again.

“Wow, you two are  _ incredibly  _ gay.” Duncan noted. Isadora glared at him,

“Pot. Kettle. Yadda, yadda.”

“Radda, radda?” Violet asked, “The fuck are you, Shnitzal from Chowder?” Quigley and Duncan snorted loudly.

“Holy fuck, Chowder, we should watch that again.” Klaus said, reminiscing. Sunny nodded furiously.

Isadora only sighed. Fiona put an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close and giggling.

“OhmyGod, Fi,  _ stop,  _ you’re gonna make the sapphic mess  _ explode.”  _ Violet said through giggles.

Isadora was  _ bright red  _ under Fiona’s arm.

“Excellent, I’d love to see what’s under that calm demeanor of her’s.” Fiona smized.

Quigley and Violet both “ _ Oooooh!” _ -ed and Klaus rubbed his face in anguish, Sunny making a face. Beabea was absolutely clueless.

* * *

“You lot ever go cruisin’ ‘round the city?” Fiona asked the other teens one fine Sunday, a few weeks after the meeting.

The others exchanged looks, looked at her, shook their heads-

“Well, perhaps you should. ‘Specially in the evening. Luvlind looks gorgeous during that time.” Fiona explained, “We could grab dinner at the food stalls in the outdoor market.”

“There’s an outdoor market here?” Violet asked. She remembered the time she had her siblings went with Justice Strauss to the outdoor market and gin distillery…

Fiona noticed the Baudelaire’s wary faces, “It’s gorgeous! A whole street market with beautiful lanterns, tons of stalls selling all kinds of things!”

“All kinds of things?” Duncan echoed.

“Books?” Klaus asked.

“Sweets?” Carmelita questioned.

“Knives?” Violet wondered.

The others looked at her. She blinked quickly, “What!? You guys  _ know  _ I started collecting knives, fuck.”

Isadora then began to laugh.

“We’d love to.” Klaus said, smiling.

“Alright, then.” Fiona said, smiling, “Tonight, we chill.”

The others heartily agreed.

* * *

Violet set her skateboard down by Isadora’s and Quigley’s, “I guess now’s a good a time as ever to use these, huh?”

“‘Course! Klaus, how’d’you like that longboard?” Fiona replied, then looking to the bookworm. He placed a steady foot on the board, rolling it back and forth,

“S’pretty good, I think.”

Fiona giggled.

Carmelita came gliding up to them in her rollerblades, “I’m kinda upset I’m not the only one in rollerblades. I thought I was  _ special!”  _ The girl said jokingly, then looking at Duncan, who was still lacing his up.

He scoffed.

Violet snorted, “When he wipes out, you can claim that title.”

Carmelita began to cackle, and Duncan glared at both of them, standing up as steady as he possibly could.

“Little shit can’t even stand up - lookit ‘em.” Quigley grinned. Duncan grumbled, getting his balance.

The group then set off - out the apartment complex parking lot, down the street, past the grocery store, gas station, small shops -

Violet got her bluetooth speaker to work finally, and hung it off her bag.

[ [Music] ](https://youtu.be/bA2DOU06gKI)

_ I hear when you pull up _

_ Calling from the pickup _

_ I'm tripping down the hallway _

_ You lookin' like a vision _

_ You're talkin' and I listen _

_ We run away like always _

  
  


Quigley laughed out loud as Duncan flew past Carmelita, who let out an angry “ _ Hey!!”.  _ The buildings began to tower over them, the evening lights flying by, the wet street under them reflecting the beauty.

  
  


_ So cut the headlights _

_ Keep rolling 'til the sun _

_ We'll fight the good fight _

_ When tomorrow has come _

_ And it's easy pretending we're alright _

_ 'Cause we live free, at least- _

  
  


Klaus crouched lower into his board, catching up to Fiona’s side. The girl held out a low hand, and he slapped it for a low-five. Violet pushed her foot twice beside her board, catching up to Quigley, yanking gently on the back of his hoodie. “ _ Bitch-! OhmyGod-”  _ He joked as she slid quickly ahead of him.

  
  


_ Until the light _

_ Until the light _

_ ('Cause we live free) _

_ Until the light _

_ Until the light _

_ ('Cause we live free) _

  
  


Carmelita whirled around the others, spinning on her rollerblades,  _ thwapping  _ Duncan on the back of his head. He couldn’t help but laugh. “ _ We’re almost there, lads.”  _ Fiona called, pushing ahead of the others.

  
  


_ Speeding on the end roads _

_ Surfin' out the window _

_ There's a fire in your eyes _

_ It's hard to say what I know _

_ Or leaving when I wanna go _

_ 'Cause every time a piece of me dies _

  
  


The group of teens came upon a long street market. Dozens of sparkling lanterns were strung across to and fro, a steady flow of people moving about - enough to populate, but not too much to crowd. They stopped on a curb to gather their transportation, Duncan and Carmelita slinging their rollerblades over their shoulders. A plethora of pleasing scents hit them.

  
  


_ So cut the headlights _

_ Keep rolling 'til the sun _

_ We'll fight the good fight _

_ When tomorrow has come _

_ And it's easy pretending we're alright _

_ 'Cause we live free, at least- _

  
  


Fiona lead them through the market’s stalls, first for some takoyaki on a stick. “Holy fuck this is savory as hell.” Quigley said, his mouth full. Violet giggled. “Ah-” Klaus said, muffled, “‘Is h-hot-”

“Real shit?” Carmelita said, blowing on her’s, “It  _ just  _ came off the grill, my dude.”

“Shut.” Klaus could only say, trying to chew.

  
  


_ Until the light _

_ Until the light _

_ ('Cause we live free) _

_ Until the light _

_ Until the light _

_ ('Cause we live free) _

_ 'Cause we live free _

_ At least until the light _

  
  


“How d’you feel about ramen?” Fiona asked, “I know a good place a way’s down-”

“ _ R A M E N _ .” Violet shouted, “OOOH  _ BITCH _ -”

“That means  _ ‘yes’ _ in Violet.” Klaus answered. Fiona laughed, Quigley nudging the eldest Baudelaire. They followed the mycologist to her usual ramen stall, to which she was greeted by, of course, Larry. The other teens were pleasantly surprised.

  
  


_ We waste time we'll never get back _

_ I don't care don't wanna go back _

_ I love you, I know you knew that _

_ I don't love the way you do that _

  
  


Fiona was confused at their reaction at first - they explained as quickly as they could as Larry and his sous chefs helped with the orders. The mycologist only confusingly nodded along, Violet watching the chefs carefully - hungrily.

“What’s with you and ramen, I swear-” Klaus began. Violet stared him down,

“It  _ slaps,  _ next  _ question.” _

Isadora laughed.

  
  


_ So cut the headlights _

_ Keep rolling 'til the sun _

_ We'll fight the good fight _

_ When tomorrow has come _

_ And it's easy pretending we're alright _

_ 'Cause we live free, at least _

  
  


They conversed loudly during their meal, Larry smiling happily. Olivia came around eventually, she was on Jacquelyn’s arm.

“Wh- Jacky what’re you doing here..?” Duncan asked.

“Date night!” Olivia chirped happily, “How funny it is to meet you all here!”

Jacquelyn sighed, “I should have guessed.”

Larry greeted the two women happily, and gave them free sake - on the house. Jacquelyn thanked him copiously, much to Olivia’s confusion.

  
  


_ Until the light _

_ Until the light _

_ ('Cause we live free) _

_ Until the light (until the light) _

_ Until the light _

_ ('Cause we live free) _

  
  


After the meal, the kids bid the adults farewell, then continuing down the street market. They munched on more foods, tried various teas, browsed produce (“We should bring Sunny some time - just us! She’d love to use these ingredients!” Klaus noted.), and bought little trinkets. Violet cooed over some My Melody and Animal Crossing merchandise, buying something for herself and for Friday, Sunny, and Bea II each.

Fiona bought Isadora a pretty, intricately designed black commonplace book, making the poet blush, shyly accepting the gift.

The group then settled in an empty spot - a group of benches near some trees - talking and resting.

Violet rested her head on Quigley’s shoulder, “We should do this every weekend - when possible.”

Quigley nodded, “Oh, most fuckin’ definitely.”

  
  


_ Until the light _

_ Until the light _

_ Go on, go on 'til the light _

_ Ooh, until the light _

_ Until the light _

_ Until the light _

_ _


	10. [Be Fine] The one where they have to talk it out.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even though happier times are upon them, some have a harder time than others.  
A much harder time.
> 
> But they'll Be Fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My blog - https://hongmoondescendant.tumblr.com/  
H2A AU Violet blog - https://missbuild-a-laire.tumblr.com/

“Hey shithead.” Quigley said to his brother, who was laying across the couch with his laptop on his chest. He double took the boy.

“...You comfortable?”

“Not at all.” Duncan’s strained voice came.

“...Then… stop doing that..?” Quigley asked, trying to be of some help.

“‘Don’t wanna move.” The journalist replied.

Quigley blinked at him,

“Alright. Mood.”

Isadora then walked into the living room, looking straight at Quigley. Duncan glanced up at her. She glanced at him.

She took in a deep breath before squeezing her eyes shut and saying,

“Quigley… we… we need to talk to you.”

Quigley whirled around to her, noticing the seriousness in her voice…. twinged with some nervousness. He pursed his lips before saying,

“...Ok?”

“Took you long enough, Izzie.” Duncan said before placing his laptop on the coffee table beside him, getting up. Isadora glared at him.

“What is this about?” Quigley asked.

“This is about…” Isadora began, trying to find the right words-

Duncan cleared his throat quickly,

“You. And how you think - or _thought? _\- V.F.D. was - or is I dunno - noble.”

Quigley felt a pang of confusion. There was a pause.

“...I thought… Lemony and Jacquelyn were V.F.D.?”

Isadora grit her teeth. Duncan snorted,

“Clearly you haven’t gotten a _ clue, _my dude.”

“...So they’re not?”

“Obviously.”

“Then why’d they take us?”

“Away from Shit City, population V.F.D.? Gee, golly, I _ wonder _why!”

“But-”

Before Quigley and Duncan could continue, Isadora’s now built up frustration burst forth,

“_ You _ ** _idiot_ ** _ , they ran from V.F.D. and took us with them to Luvlind so we could be _ ** _safe_ ** _ and V.F.D. couldn’t find us - Jacquelyn is making sure of that and Lemony just wants to _ ** _move on_ ** _ . V.F.D. was _ ** _twisted_ ** _ from the _ ** _start_ ** _ and you should have _ ** _kNOWN THAT-”_ **

Duncan went over and grabbed her arms, giving her a look. Isadora’s face was hot, her cheeks red with anger. She stopped mid sentence to look at the journalist, who was trying to communicate with her via triplet telepathy- _ it’s fine. _

Quigley stood speechless before his siblings. Jacquelyn listened silently from down the hall, peering from her room.

She’d intervene, but perhaps not yet.

This was something for them to try and work out first. She’ll step in if needed.

“But… K-Kit…” The cartographer tried.

“She was wrong.” Duncan said softly, turning to him, “She was trying her best, but she was wrong. Monty? He was wrong, too. He was going to take the Baudelaires to Peru and… into V.F.D.”

Quigley’s mouth went dry.

_ What? _

_ That- _

_ What if that actually happened? Would I have ever met Violet? _

_ That’s- _

“But… they were kind…”

“Quigley.” Isadora said, dewy eyed, “It doesn’t matter if they were kind. What they were doing wasn’t noble. What they did wasn’t noble. Jacquelyn and Lemony realized that. The others that are _ here _realized that. Maybe Kit and the rest realized that far too late. V.F.D. isn’t noble.” She said, walking towards her brother, putting her hands on his shoulders,

“...It never fucking was.”

Quigley felt his stomach drop.

_ I mean. I… kind of thought, but… _

He didn’t know what to say.

Words wouldn’t come out of his mouth.

Duncan looked at him and swallowed,

“I… I’m sorry.”

Quigley chuckled slightly before looking down at the floor for a moment,

“I… I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t… battling with those thoughts in my mind… for a while…”

Isadora clenched her jaw, trying to keep the tears in her eyes from spilling. She only nodded.

Jacquelyn quietly walked down the hallway and into the living room. Quigley drew in a sharp breath, staring at her.

Duncan and Isadora noticed this, and they turned back, too.

“Jacquelyn-” Isadora began.

“No worries. We’ve all got some healing to do. Hopefully those therapy sessions have been working out.” Jacquelyn said, “And it looks like they have been.”

Isadora’s floodgates opened, and she began to openly sob, walking to cling to Jacquelyn. The auburn haired woman only smiled sadly, holding onto the poet. Duncan only sighed.

Quigley stared at them, but not _ at _them.

Rather, somewhere far off, deep into his thoughts.

* * *

Carmelita sat on her bed, staring at her knees. Thinking.

She’d decided to stop playing Monster Hunter: World for a while. She got bored. Something was bothering her.

The sun filtered through the sheer curtains of her room, casting a gentle pink hue. She only turned her fairy lights on when it became darker outside. She didn’t like much light. She preferred it dim.

It relaxed her.

The door opened. She felt a pang of fear.

“B-Brandon! I was just- I was just going to-” She began quickly, trying to look around for an excuse.

Brandon only smiled, “Hey, cuz, it’s alright. I know you finished all your homework.” He went to sit beside his young cousin,

“You don’t need to be doing something productive _ all the time _y’know.”

Carmelita felt some confusion. And some relief, but mostly confusion.

_ My parents always wanted me to be doing _ ** _something_ ** _ . _

_ Just… so I was… out of their hair. Probably. _

There was silence as she had these quiet thoughts.

“Talk to me, Carm.” Brandon said, putting a comforting arm around his might-as-well-be-younger-sister.

Carmelita’s face twisted into confusion,

“About what.” She said, staring at her lap again, her hands balled into fists.

“About what you’re thinkin’ about.” Brandon offered. Carmelita only looked up at him. His face was kind. Honest.

Every little thing her parents’... weren’t.

“I… I’m scared.” She said simply, her voice soft.

“Of what?” Brandon asked.

“Of… the… future. I guess.” Carmelita continued. She then felt something… rise up in her throat.

Fear? Regret? Anger?

“We’ll be fine, Carm.” Brandon said, holding her close to him, “You, me, Hugo, Colette, and Kev! All of us. We’ll do just fine.”

Carmelita looked back at her lap, squeezing her eyes shut. Something was welling up.

Something was trying to get out.

“I’m just… I don’t know.” Carmelita said softly.

Brandon smiled,

“The world is full of uncertainties. We just need to… _ try _to be positive. Trust in what we believe in. We’ll get through it.”

The red-head felt her jaw tighten. Her head was fuzzy. Her stomach was tight. She felt sick. Something was…

Droplets began to tap at the fists in her lap.

“We’ll be fine, sister.”

Carmelita suddenly looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. Brandon’s face softened.

“What if it’s not? What if I can’t change? What if I do something wrong? _ What if I go back to the way I was? To the monster? The person I resent now? The person I’m afraid of?” _Carmelita sobbed,

“** _What if i turn into my parents?_ **”

Carmelita felt so _ ugly. _Her parents would have scolded her brutally for crying like this.

She awaited the screaming, or the slapping, or…

Brandon only pulled the desperate, crying girl into a tight hug,

“You won’t.”

She was confused. Where was the..?

Where..?

_ Why? _

“Why are you..?” Carmelita cried softly into his shoulder.

“Because, Carmelita.” Brandon said, cradling her, “You’re my family. This is how family treats each other. This is what it means to have empathy. To have love.”

Carmelita began to sob even harder - but not out of sadness - out of happiness. Perhaps out of pain. The pain that her parents could never do this for her.

_ This is love? This is what it means for a family member to love? _

It felt so… _ foreign _to her. Empathy.

She still had so much to learn.

Nonetheless,

She then clung to Brandon, sobbing.

Brandon and Colette.

The only blood family she had left… that she could call hers. Truly.

* * *

Violet and Quigley sat cuddled up on the loveseat in Violet’s room. Her head was resting in the crook of Quigley’s neck. They looked at the small flatscreen in front of them, giggling occasionally.

Just another Friday night watching YouTube videos on a “watch later” playlist.

The final video ended, and Quigley checked the time. 10:34PM.

“It’s not too late.” Quigley said, “We could find more stuff to watch… or…” He said as she looked up at him.

_ Her pretty blue eyes. Blue like ice… like… a clear winter sky… _

“Quigley Kingswell, are you suggesting we _ make out?” _Violet said flirtatiously. Quigley wiggled his brows, “Maaaaybe..?”

She grinned, her eyes glittering, her cheeks pink, “You may have a good idea on your mind, Quagmire.” She then giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Their warm faces closed the empty space between, their noses touching. Violet’s lips brushed up to Quigley’s, teasing him. He grinned again,

“God, I can’t _ wait _to marry you.”

The inventor suddenly stopped, frozen. Fear gripped at her.

It wasn’t intentional, hell, she knew that. _ He _knew that.

Quigley swallowed hard,

“I mean - _ sonofabitch - _baby, I’m- I’m so sorry-!” He said, pulling away, cupping her cheek as she sat there, eyes glazed over. Thinking.

_ Thinking too much. _

She shook her head, trying to shake those thoughts,

“No, Quig, babe, it’s fine..! Really, I just… I just need… time to get over it.”

“Violet. If you-”

“No! _ No! _ I _ want _ to marry you. So _ fucking _badly. But…” She said, drawing in a shaky breath.

“You don’t want… a traditional wedding.” Quigley finished for her.

Violet swallowed,

“No white dress. No… none of that. I just… I want it to be… chill? Chill. I want… I just want us to be together…” She felt like she was going to cry-

“And we will be.” Quigley reassured her, gently rubbing her cheeks with his thumbs. He stared into her eyes. She did the same.

“We will be.”

She felt her cheeks grow hotter. She felt a happy lump rise up in her throat.

_ I love him… so much… _

She gave him a wide smile.

“Oh, shit, idea-!’ Quigley began. Violet raised her brows in interest.

“Night club marriage. We rent one out - a super chill one. We party, get married, get drunk, have fun. It’ll be our’s. Like nothing else.” Quigley said, proposing the idea.

Violet quite liked this proposition.

She giggled,

“You raise quite the offer, Quagmire.” She cooed, leaning into him.

Quigley grinned,

“Excellent. Expect a ring by the time we’re like… twenty-something. I dunno. Whenever we feel like we’re ready.”

Violet gave a flirty blink,

“Twentyyyyyy… two. At least.” She giggled, “_ Maybe _twenty. Depends on how I’m feeling.”

Quigley grinned, “I sure hope you _ feel _by that time, then, baby.”

Violet then began to giggle as the cartographer began to attack her neck with kisses.

* * *

Klaus sat in his seat in their Latin class on a Tuesday, his cheek resting on the cold desk before him. Violet and Quigley were giggling about something stupid, as per usual. Isadora lazily pushed her finger upward on her phone, scrolling through her dashboard.

Duncan glanced at the bookworm, who’s face looked tired. Klaus’s eyes had glazed over, and they stared off into his own empty abyss of thoughts.

If he was thinking at all, really.

“...Klaus?” Duncan said, leaning down into his own desk, looking at him.

Klaus suddenly blinked, his eyes shifting to Duncan’s,

“What’s up.”

Duncan looked at Klaus’s face, raising an eyebrow,

“Are you doing ok?

“Just tired.” He merely replied, “Didn’t get a ton of sleep last night.”

Duncan’s expression twisted into worry, “Are you- do you want to… talk about it?”

“Ah, I’m fine, don’t even worry about it.” Klaus said, raising his head suddenly, then staring at the assignment paper in front of him. It was half done.

_ I’ll finish it at home. _

_ Or something. _

Duncan arched his brows in worry, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, Dunc.” Klaus replied absentmindedly.

Duncan only bit the inside of his cheek, then looked back at his phone.

Later that same day, Klaus entered his room to see Violet laying upside down on his bed from the side. He grumbled, “No jokes, no johns, no japes, Vi. Outta here.” Klaus said, pointing from her to his door.

She only sat up, then turned to him,

“Buddy, we gotta talk.”

Klaus blinked at her,

“Wait, what?”

“Yes, I know what you’re thinking, _ ‘Holy shit she’s being serious for once?’ _Yes, I am.” Violet said, getting up and walking over to her younger brother,

“I’m worried about you, buddy.”

“...Why?” Klaus asked, feeling nervous.

Violet sighed,

“You’ve been, like, _ absent _ for the past few weeks, bud.” She said, “And I overheard Lemony talkin’ with Jacquelyn about your last therapist visit.”

“Violet, that’s _ personal.” _Klaus began, squinting at her.

She waved him off,

“You’re depressed, Klaus.”

The bookworm stopped short.

“You’re in a super depressive state right now, and I’m worried about you. We’re _ all _worried about you.” Violet explained gently,

“We’ve _ all _ been through the wringer, and I know it’ll take some time to heal… like… a _ lot _of time… but…”

Klaus felt his fist tighten.

“...We’ll be fine.” His elder sister finished.

“I’m fine. Just. Get out.” Klaus said.

Violet blinked up at him from her seat,

“Klaus-”

“I need to be alone.”

Violet winced slightly at his words. She sighed. She got up.

Klaus looked through her.

She walked past him, but stopped short, placing something into his chest,

“Use this. Don’t be stupid.”

He wrapped his fingers around it.

She left his room.

_ A blue marker. _

Klaus sighed. He wasn’t… he wouldn’t stoop that far.

Would he?

He wouldn’t…

He stared at it as he closed the door to his bedroom.

* * *

[[Music] ](https://youtu.be/1dYX28A6vFw)

Carmelita took in a deep breath as she looked at herself in the mirror,

“_ But-! ...No buts.” _

Quigley eyed the healing scar on Lemony’s ankle where the tattoo used to be.

_ But..! ...No buts. _

Klaus stared blankly at the book he held in his hands before him, the cold autumn air gripping at his cheeks.

_ But… _

He sighed.

_ No buts. _

Violet rested her chin on her hand, gazing at Quigley.

_ But… _ Hm. _ No buts. _

  
  


_ Today the world is gonna do me right- _

_ The sun is rising in my head. _

Violet smiled gently.

_ Until I just cannot believe my eyes- _

_ And you tell me it's another phase, _

Klaus closed his book. He needed to be around other people. He got up from his seat on the porch, slid the glass door open, and entered the apartment.

_ Does it matter if it's real or not? _

_ I don't think I'll ever have enough- _

Sunny called out a hello to the bookworm from the kitchen. She was cutting up some veggies with Jacquelyn’s help. Bea II babbled at him as she toddled toward his direction.

_ Make it so the fire doesn't stop- _

_ Are you listening to me? _

_ Don't tell me that I might- _

Klaus acknowledged his younger sister and plucked up Bea, then heading to the living room where the others were lazing about. Violet looked up at him from Quigley’s side.

The middle Baudelaire only smiled,

“_ I will… be fine. Again.” _

_ Tell me that I might- _

_ I will… be fine. _

_ Again. _

_ Tell me that I might- _

_ I will. Be Fine. _

_ Let my body do me right. _

_ I say- _

_ I will. Be Fine. _

Violet smiled at him. The bookworm went to sit with Duncan, who gave him a soft look. Isadora chucked a pillow over at Violet, who then grabbed it and threw it back. The poet batted it away and swore at her. The inventor and the cartographer giggled. Bea II belly laughed at them from Klaus’s side.

_ Can I make this my home? _

_ I'm still coming into my own- _

_ "You can't keep falling into my arms." _

_ "You can't keep falling into my arms!" _

_ But what is there is all that I knew, _

_ When it's time to do what I do- _

_ It's all I need from you… _

_ Say, __  
_ _Are you listening to me?_

Quigley wrapped an arm around a still giggling Violet, pulling her closer to him. She grinned, smiling at him. Isadora rolled her eyes.

Carmelita walked into the living space of the Spats flat, seeing Brandon and Kevin in the kitchen, as per usual. Carrie padded up to Carmelita, wagging her tail. Carmelita couldn’t help but smile, kneeling down to pet the dog generously.

_ Don't tell me that I might- _

“You alright?” Brandon asked Carmelita from the kitchen. The short girl smiled up at him,

“_ I will be fine… again.” _

Brandon nodded softly to her.

_ Tell me that I might- _

_ I will. Be Fine. Again. _

_ Tell me that I might- _

_ I will. Be Fine. _

_ Let my body do me right, _

_ I will. Be Fine. _

  
  


Back in the Baudelaire apartment, Violet rested her head on Quigley’s shoulder. Klaus listened to Duncan talk on and on about Mayhem’s gossip, and how the newspaper president was crazy not to let at least _ some _of that make it to print. Fiona flung open the front door suddenly, causing Isadora to grin in delight.

_ Don't let me down... _

_ I'm up again. _

_ I'll keep it around... _

_ Another day. _

_ If I fall to the ground, _

_ I'll come again. _

_ I'll stay awake for a lifetime- _

_ Awake for a lifetime. _

Jacquelyn helped Sunny place the freshly cut vegetables into a pot. Her phone dinged. The woman looked at it, seeing a text from Olivia. She grinned.

Lemony settled himself at the dining room table, taking in his surroundings.

He felt… alone. But surrounded all at once.

The loneliness was… negative?

But the surrounding noise was… comforting.

Somehow.

_ I will. Be Fine. _

_ Let my body do me right, _

Violet giggled at Quigley. The cartographer grinned.

_ I will. Be Fine. _

Klaus laughed at Duncan. Fiona placed a sweet kiss onto Isadora’s forehead.

_ I will. Be Fine. _

Jacquelyn smiled as she texted Olivia back. Lemony gave a deep sigh, smiling.

_ I will. Be Fine. _

_ _


	11. [Sunday Best] The one where they feel good, just like they should.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My blog - https://hongmoondescendant.tumblr.com/  
H2A AU Violet blog - https://missbuild-a-laire.tumblr.com/

The gentle morning sun filtered through the curtains of the BaudeQuag apartments on a fine weekend morning. Violet blinked awake. She actually had a sleep void of nightmares for once. She sat up, stretching. Pickles shook herself and yawned. “‘Mornin’, stinky.” Violet smiled at the little dog.

Klaus had woken up around 6AM, and couldn’t get back to sleep. He’d been staring at his phone, looking at various apps. He sighed.  _ Morning. _

Quigley laid lazily in his bed - that was before Isadora came into his room, grabbed his commonplace book, and threw it at him, running out immediately afterward. Quigley awoke with a start, and yelled out at his sister angrily.

Duncan threw on a sweatshirt and jeans, quickly making his way to the Baudelaire apartment across the way.

Jacquelyn glanced up at Duncan before returning her eyes to her laptop.  _ Nothing. Good. _

_ Not yet at least. _

_ Let’s keep it that way. _

Lemony sleepily poured his coffee in the kitchen, hearing the door open,

“Good morning, Duncan.” He said. Duncan closed the door,

“How’d you know it was me, Lemon Man?”

“Each of you kids opens the door differently. For example; You open it in a...  _ gentler _ fashion than your other siblings do.” Lemony replied.

Duncan blinked, “Alright. I’ll take it. I guess.” The journalist said before going down the hallway.

“Klaus has been awake for quite some time-” Lemony began,

“I know. That’s why I’m here.” Duncan called from down the hall.

Lemony sighed. Of course.

Violet opened her door, Pickles running out into the living room, her collar jingling, “Quiet, shit child, Sunny and Beabea are still sleeping. Oh, hey Dunkle.”

“Hey, Vi - is Klaus doing ok?” Duncan asked. Before she could give the obvious answer, he shook his head,

“What am I saying - of course he’s not doing ok,” The boy then opened the door to the bookworm’s room.

Klaus looked up from his phone for a moment, “Hey, babe.”

“We’re going over to Carm’s today.” Duncan announced.

Violet peeked her head in. Klaus rose an eyebrow.

“What?”

“You heard me. We gotta get our minds off shit. Besides, Carm has piano, and I know you’ve been dying to play it, yeah?”

Klaus swallowed.

He remembered the piano their parents used to have in their mansion. Their mother had started to teach Klaus how to play it after he badgered her about it for a few months. He was around ten. Something like that.

Memories of his younger years - before the fire - were starting to blend together.

Like a messy painting.

Violet smirked, “You remember how to play,  _ right  _ Klaus?” She teased her younger brother. He suddenly scoffed,

“Of  _ course  _ I do. I never forget things like that - you and I  _ both  _ know that, now shut up.” The bookworm argued, then hearing his sister start to cackle at him. He glared at her.

* * *

Duncan sent out a text to the group chat. The others got dressed.

“We’ll just roll up there ourselves - we’ve got transportation. Jacky, come on, don’t look at me like that we’ll be  _ fine.”  _ Violet reassured the auburn-haired woman. She merely rolled her eyes, “Alright then. Just be safe. You have our contact information. Be home at a reasonable hour.”

Violet nodded, smiling, “You got it,” She and Klaus then made their way to the front door, “Love ya, Jacky.”

Sunny and Bea II waved at them. Jacquelyn smiled softly,

“Love you, too, kids.”

Violet grinned, and Klaus gave a weak smirk.

Klaus looked down the stairs as Violet shut the door. The triplets and Fiona were already in the parking lot, horsing around.

“LET. ME GO.  _ BASSARD.”  _ Quigley called out at Duncan, who held his brother in a tight headlock. Isadora and Fiona sat on the curb nearby, the poet held a lollipop in her mouth. The two sapphic gals looked at the unfolding chaos. Violet jogged down the stairs,

“Let go of my poor boy, Dunkadoo.”

“Fuck you. Pay me.” Duncan called out while holding his struggling brother. Quigley slapped at his arm and waved desperately at Violet.

Klaus rolled his eyes before following his sister.

“How’s it hangin’, Vivi?” Fiona called to the eldest Baudelaire.

“Just fuckin’ splendid - Duncan, please, you’re suffocating him.” Violet replied before walking up to the two struggling boys. She placed her skateboard down. Duncan suddenly dropped his arm, letting Quigley fall to the pavement under them.

“ _ Fuckin' shit,  _ man! WARN me next time!” Quigley gasped, laying out on the ground. Violet giggled before helping him up. Klaus walked over to Duncan,

“You  _ could _ go a couple of seconds without trying to kill one of your siblings.”

Duncan blinked, “Quigley doesn’t get a chance to think. Isadora, on the other hand,” They glanced at the poet,

“She scares me. She’d cut me before I could do anything.”

“Fair point.” Klaus snorted.

“You hafta remember that Isadora is the one who holds the brain cell the most in this group of people.” Violet reminded them. Isadora smirked tauntingly. Quigley made a face, as if saying “ _ OOOh gOOd for YoOOoOou” _ .

“I thought I’d have the brainc-” Klaus began, but his elder sister cut him off,

“Remember how you held that martini glass?”

“...Perhaps.”

“Fucking moron.” Violet replied to him with a grin.

The bookworm rolled his eyes.

* * *

“ _ GA A AAAYYMEEERRRS!” _ Carmelita called as she opened the door to the Spats flat, greeting her friends. Violet saluted her with two fingers as they each entered.

“Hey, kids! Good to see ya!” Brandon smiled at them. Hugo cleared his throat, “Clean up the messes you make.” Carmelita stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

Fiona rolled her eyes at the red-head, “Don’t worry, Hugo, we’ll keep clean.”

The herbalist thanked her before going to sit on the couch.

Carmelita skipped over to a nice space near a large window where a grand piano sat. Klaus stared at it as the others went to sit in various spots. Violet brought out the Baudelaire ukulele and tested its sound.

“...Klaus?” Carmelita asked.

The boy shook himself from his thoughts,

“Hm?”

“Are you ok?”

He gave a nervous smile, “Y-yeah! ...Yeah. I’m good.”

Carmelita only nodded, looking to Violet. The inventor nudged at Quigley, who looked up from his phone, confused. She squinted at him. He snorted, then going to get his commonplace book from his bag.

“Hey, Klaus, Quig and I have been working on a song - you mind playing the piano for us?”

The bookworm took in a quick, shallow breath,

“Ah, s-sure! Um-” He went to sit down at the piano.

“Here’s some notes,” Quigley said, placing his open commonplace book in front of his friend, “Vi ‘n’ I will jump in once you’ve got it, yeah?”

Klaus only nodded, feeling nervous.

He looked from the pages with messy music notes, to the white and black keys, and back.

Isadora and Fiona leaned on the piano, the poet fiddling with one of the ties on the mycologist’s jacket.

The notes were messy - a lot of erasing had happened. Clearly the two had never really written music before, but he could understand the sound they were going for.

It was… light-hearted. He looked at the words written down. He sighed.

_ I need to… move on. It’s… going to be ok. _

He then began to play the notes, and the others began to smile. Violet grinned, then readying her ukulele.

[[Music]](https://youtu.be/Xt3m04Tscc8)

Violet and Quigley harmonized randomly as the inventor began to play, Violet then sung out radiantly,

“ _ Yeah, feelin’ good! Just like I shou-ould! Went and took a walk around the neighborhood~.” _

Quigley jumped in with her,

“ _ Feelin’ blessed, hey! Never stressed…” _

Carmelita and Duncan joined in,

“ _ Got that sunshine on my Sunday Best~!” _

Violet took a moment to stop playing, and simply tapped at her ukulele, this time only she and Quigley singing,

“ _ Yeah, [giggle], everyday can be a better day despite the challenge.” _

_ “All you gotta do is leave it better than you found it!” _

_ “It’s gonna get difficult to stand but hold your balance-” _

_ “I just say ‘whatever!’ ‘cause there is no way around it-” _

Fiona and Isadora smiled, then singing together,

“ _ Everyone falls~ down sometimes~.” _

_ “But, you just gotta know it’ll all Be Fine~.” _

_ “It’s ok.” _

_ “Uh-huuuhuuh~” _

_ “It’s okaaaay~!” _

_ “It’s okaaaaaay~!” _

Klaus had started to smile widely, and the two sapphic girls began to tap on the top of the piano, Violet playing again, and they all began to sing,

“ _ Yeah, feelin’ good! Just like I shou-ould~.” _

_ “Went and took a walk around the neighbourhood!” _

_ “Feelin’ blessed, hey! Never stressed~.” _

_ “Got that sunshine on my Sunday best!” _

Violet began to sing by herself this time, but unexpectedly, Klaus joined in,

“ _ Some days you wake up and nothing works you feel surrounded,” _

_ “Gotta give your feet some gravity to get you grounded,” _

_ “Keep good things inside your ears just like the waves and sound did,” _

_ “And just say ‘whatever!’ 'cause there is no way around it!” _

All the teens were smiling, tapping along in their own way, filled with life,

“ _ Oh~, Everyone falls down sometimes~!” _

_ “But you just gotta know, it’ll all Be Fine!” _

_ “It’s okay!” _

_ ““Uh-huuuhuuh~” _

_ “It’s okaaaay~!” _

_ “It’s okaaaaaay~!” _

Brandon and the farm sibs all smiled at them as they sung and played. This had been the happiest Klaus felt in a while. The safest Carmelita had felt in a while. The warmest Violet had felt in a while. The freest the Quagmires had felt in a while.

The closest they had been.

_ “Yeah, feelin’ good! Just like I shou-ould~.” _

_ “Went and took a walk around the neighbourhood!” _

_ “Feelin’ blessed, hey! Never stressed~.” _

_ “Got that sunshine on my Sunday best!” _

Klaus and Duncan giggled at each other for a moment.

_ “Hey, feelin’ good! Just like I shou-ould~.” _

_ “Went and took a walk around the neighbourhood!” _

_ “Feelin’ blessed, heyyy! Never stressed~.” _

_ “Got that sunshine on my Sunday best!” _

Everyone then clapped and cheered for each other, laughing and giggling. The other teens then made a hug pile on Klaus, who was nearly cry-laughing.

They wouldn’t let their past control them. They wouldn’t let it define them.

It was a long road, but they were going to take it.

Their happiness was theirs, and nobody was going to take it from them.


	12. [Through and Through]The one where Violet needs to open up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My blog - https://hongmoondescendant.tumblr.com/  
H2A AU Violet blog - https://missbuild-a-laire.tumblr.com/

Violet sat on the floor in front of her tv, in her room, the clock ticking into the night. She’d turned it off after telling herself she’d go to bed around two hours ago. Something like that.

She’d been staring down at her lap. Thinking.

_ Thinking too much. _

_ Too much. _

_ T o o m u c h T o o m u c h T o o m u c h - _

Her phone buzzed and brightened, cutting off her thoughts. She didn’t know whether to be thankful or upset.

Regardless,

She unlocked her phone to see a mention from the group’s Discord server. She blew her hair out of her face, irritated… but then began to smile, then giggling as she typed as well…

Soon Violet had dissolved into a giggling mess as the messages kept coming. She’d forgotten about those thoughts.

But only for the time being.

She eventually fell asleep as the chat slowed down.

* * *

Violet rigidly sat on one of the benches at The Spot™️ during lunch, scrolling through her dashboard on her phone, her mind running wild, trying to distract herself.

Klaus flumped down onto the floor in front of her, causing her to look up,

“‘You ok, my dude?”

“Just peachy.” Klaus grumbled, digging through his backpack for his food.

Violet’s brows arched in worry, “Are you sure? ‘Wanna talk about it?”

Klaus took in a deep breath,

“I can’t get those images out of my mind.”

Violet felt something drop in her stomach. Nonetheless,

“It’ll probably take a while for you to move past it, but we’ve all been making progress.” She stated gently, “And you’ll make it through, too. Just like the rest of us.” She smiled gently at him.

Klaus snorted, “I’ll be surprised if _ that _ever happens.”

Violet looked at him with caring eyes,

“It will. You might not even notice it when it happens.”

Klaus rose an eyebrow at her, “You talk as if you’re already there.”

She swallowed, “No-” She said quickly, causing Klaus to roll his eyes.

She pursed her lips for a moment,

“What I _ meant _is that I still have things to work through of my own.”

“You seem to be having an easier time.”

She squinted at him, “What’re you on about-?’

“How you can laugh so easily. Spit out jokes like it’s natural.” Klaus spat.

She felt pained.

Klaus saw it in her face, and then instantly regretted what he’d said,

“I didn’t mean-”

“Don’t worry about it. I know you’re hurting.” Violet said quickly, trying to sound caring, “Hurt people tend to _ hurt _ people. We’re all hurt right now, Klaus. It’s ok.”

He voice fell flat. Kaus swallowed as Violet’s eyes returned to her phone.

Other members of the Friend Group™️ had arrived and settled. As always, the area they’d claimed had become lively and loud.

Quigley slid to Violet’s side, putting a gentle arm around her shoulder, “Ayyy, babe, watchu up to..?”

She was shaken from her dissociative state as she looked from her phone to Quigley,

“Nothing, really.” She automatically replied.

The cartographer gave her a stern look,

“You’ve got a problem. What’s up.”

Violet looked at him with fake bewilderment,

“What’re you talking about?”

“You’ve been absent unless we’re joking around, Vi.” Quigley replied, “There’s something wrong.”

She grit her teeth for a second, “I’m fine, Quig, I’m just a little stressed because of classes, that’s all-”

“No,” The boy said looking into her eyes,

“No, you’re not.”

Violet felt trapped,

“Not here, Quigley.” She whispered,

“Not now.”

Quigley’s face softened, “Then let’s go somewhere quieter.”

Violet stared at him for a moment, studying his face. She then sighed, nodding.

The two got up and left, mostly unnoticed.

* * *

Lemony was about to leave his classroom when the two feral lovebirds came through his door. He looked at them carefully.

Violet looked nervous, and Quigley looked determined.

“Whatever you two will be doing, don’t make a mess of my room.” Lemony said, “I’ll be in the teacher’s lounge if you need me.”

Quigley only nodded as the door closed, leaving the two alone.

Violet felt her ears ringing in the silence of the room, the muffled chatter in the outside hall…

“Come here.” Quigley said, pulling her hand to some corner seats. Violet silently followed, sitting down beside him.

The cartographer took her hand with both of his,

“Tell me what’s on your mind, baby.”

Violet grit her teeth, looking at the floor. She didn’t want to think about any of it. She always thought too much. So much. Too much.

_ Too much. _

_ Thinking too much. _

_ Too much. Too much. _

** _ T o o m u c h_ ** _ \- _

“Violet.” Quigley’s voice suddenly came after the silence. Violet snapped out of it once again, looking at him,

“I can’t shake it.”

“Shake what?” Quigley began, “... I-if you’re comfortable talking about it.”

She attempted to swallow the pit in her throat, “I-”

The memories that plagued her. She tried to talk about them with the therapist, but it always came out muddled, or she couldn’t speak for some reason. Like something was stopping her. She didn’t want to think about it. It was too horrible.

The fuzzy memories, mostly. The ones where she was out of it. The hospital? The hospital. She suddenly felt cold. Something was crawling on her.

“V-Violet, babe, are-are you ok? I didn’t mean to-” Quigley broke through her thoughts like sunshine through clouds.

She looked at him.

“You’re… crying…” Quigley said softly, tenderly wiping her face with his thumb.

She touched her face. Warm tears. She squeezed her eyes shut, taking a deep breath,

“I th-think O-Olaf-” She stuttered.

Quigley suddenly felt his blood boil.

Violet swallowed, opened her mouth, shut it again, and then let out a small cry before saying,

“M-more than just trying to marry me and touching my face and m-my shoulder weird and my arm h-he…” She choked out, “I-in the h-h-hospital he might have- but not _ all _that. I know he d-didn’t but I- he t-tou-” She suddenly stopped, clasping her hands over her mouth, giving out a desperate cry. Quigley grit his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut. He then grabbed onto the inventor, holding her tightly, his arms wrapped around her.

The girl sobbed into his shoulder, feeling dead inside.

“It’s ok.” Quigley whispered softly, “You’re ok. It’s going to be ok. You’re here, now. You’ve got us.”

She only shivered, sobbing. It was so hard to move past it all.

He knew that. They all knew that.

“I won’t do that to you. I won’t hurt you.” Quigley said.

Violet looked up at him with a wet, miserable face. Her eyes were red and desperate. She breathed in sharply,

“_ Please don’t leave.” _

Quigley looked at her face, inspecting it. He then smiled, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead,

“I won’t leave you, Violet. I won’t hurt you like that. I’ll protect you with all I can. I _ promise. _”

Violet gave a small smile before burying her head into his neck,

“...Thank you.” Her voice came, weak and muffled.

Quigley then continued to hold her tightly for a while.

* * *

That night, Quigley stayed in Violet’s room. She was uneasy. And rightfully so. She strummed at her family ukulele - her ukulele, staring off, trying to keep her mind busy, but it was busy anyways.

Quigley glanced at her. He began to hum a little.

The inventor took notice of this, and began to pick at some notes.

She felt something come to her. Something that needed to get out, and she began to sing softly… almost pathetically…

[[Music]](https://youtu.be/zFkLt_4sNaE)

“_ OoOoOoh…” _

Quigley watched her face as she sang,

“_ I only think about it in the night time, _

_ Always in the night time- _

_ Up to late lying on the floor.” _

She felt something knot up slightly. Quigley continued to hum, placing a gentle hand on her knee. She continued to sing softly,

“_ Thinkin- _

_ ‘I’ve been here for so long, _

_ Just a little too long, _

_ Think I need to get out of the door’-” _

The cartographer squeezed her knee slightly.

“_ But I’ve never been a brave one, _

_ Always was a tame one- _

_ Always double checked all that I knew…” _

Violet took in a sharp breath,

“_ But safety is a danger, _

_ Yeah, there’s only one way out, _

_ It’s through-” _

Quigley joined in with Violet as she closed her eyes to sing,

“_ Oh, through and through. _

_ Oh, through and through- _

_ I’ll find my way to you- _

_ Though, I’ll admit it may take me some time… _

_ Oh, through and through! _

_ Oh, through and through, _

_ I will be there for you! _

_ Even if we may seek a separate light…” _

Violet’s voice cracked as Quigley fell silent, placing a caring arm around her shoulders,

“_ And I don’t know what I’ve been waiting for- _

_ It feels like I’m always losin’ my way, _

_ I’m doubtin’ every step I take.” _

She clenched her jaw for a second before continuing,

_ “I know that everything finds its place, _

_ Although I wish I knew where to- _

_ I guess I’ll have to see it through-” _

Quigely began to softly sing with her again,

“_ Oh, through and through. _

_ Oh, through and through- _

_ I’ll find my way to you- _

_ Though, I’ll admit it may take me some time…” _

Quigley placed his cheek against Violet’s,

“_ Oh, through and through! _

_ Oh, through and through, _

_ I will be there for you! _

_ Even though we may seek a separate liiiight~” _

Quigley closed his eyes, listening to her strum at the strings.

“_ Oooh…” _

As she slowly stopped playing, she slipped her head into the crook of the cartographer’s neck, closing her eyes.

They stayed there for a while, listening to nothing.


	13. [Be Honest] The one where Klaus remembers things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My blog - https://hongmoondescendant.tumblr.com/  
H2A AU Violet blog - https://missbuild-a-laire.tumblr.com/

Klaus used to be a jovial boy. 

Key words being _ used _to be. 

His favorite foods were bread pudding and the cream cheese icing on the top of those cupcakes at the bakery that was near the bank - the other side of the street, really. He loved it when they brought home those cupcakes - they being their parents. He’d scrape off the icing, and then violet would eat the fluffy cake bit. The cake bit felt weird in his mouth, and the icing was too sweet for Violet, so they formed a bit of an alliance when it came to the cupcakes.

He liked to sit in the library by the window while it rained. His right arm rested on the windowsill while his left tiredly clutched a book, it laying against the windowpane. He’d listen to the rain pitter patter against the windows, the outside walls of the house, and the grass and cobblestone outside. Sometimes he’d fall asleep, and their father would come in to find him. He would get a little upset with him if it had gotten dark out, saying the boy should “stay away from the windows” when it was night out.

When they were younger he’d play hide and seek with Violet a lot. Violet would always win because she was particularly good at hiding. Her brain confused him sometimes. When they got older and Sunny came around, they had to stop doing some things together, since Sunny would want to play with them, and their parents told them not to leave her on her own, especially outside, or near windows at night.

_ Again with the windows and night. _

Their parents had told them to be careful. To look after each other. To make sure Sunny ate well and rested fully. They asked if they had everything they needed. They told them to be back before the sun started to set - “Just in case.”

_ That was the last time we saw them. _

It was weird.

That morning, their parents were ok. They were living and breathing and their hearts were beating. They’d only been on the rickety trolley for around twenty minutes. Then they were only at the beach for an hour and twelve minutes.

They were back before the sun started setting, yes, but,

They were back a might too early.

And their parents weren’t ok. They weren’t living or breathing and their hearts weren’t beating any more.

And all their stuff - the stuff they didn’t have with them initially - was gone. Like. _ Gone, _gone.

Josephine was right, though. It was a weird feeling.

She left, too. So did Monty. And… Kit and Dewey… and all the others that tried to help them.

Klaus had been tossing and turning for about three hours, now. Friday nights were the worst, or really any night before a break from school. School would keep his mind busy. He didn’t want to worry anyone. He kept to himself - if he didn’t finish his work at school, he’d do it at home, holed up in his room, and then he’d turn it all in during class the next day. His teachers were understanding, but sometimes his grades would still suffer - he forgot to double check something, or he got an answer wrong when he thought he triple checked it.

He sat up in his bed, rubbing his face. His curtains were thick, but they were a soft blue color. The lamps outside his window shed their light on the curtain, making his room blue. He sighed. He stared at the curtain for a while.

Klaus had figured out everything. Why their parents told them to stay away from windows at night, why they shouldn’t be by themselves. Why they needed to stay away from strangers.

Why they always looked so worried when he asked a lot of questions.

Why they.

Died.

That day.

They’d made a mistake. Bertrand and Beatrice Baudelaire thought what they were ordered to do by V.F.D. was a good thing. The right thing. The noble thing. It wasn’t. Their mistake and misjudgement cost them a lot of things. A lot of very, very important things.

Klaus had talked about all of this with his therapist. He told them about the marker Violet had given him. The therapist smiled and nodded, saying that his elder sister was smart to do that. She was smart. She was annoying, and a little selfish, and wild, and pissed him off a lot, but,

She was smart. And she was his sister. His only older sister that he’d ever have. He was thankful for that. She got them out of a lot of trouble a lot of the time. From then til now.

The bookworm kicked the blankets back and threw his legs over the side of his bed. Something itched at him. Something he couldn’t describe and didn’t really want to go through with or even think about but if he didn’t address it he would probably fucking explode and it would hurt the others and maybe him the most.

His mind was rambling again and he hated when it did that. It did that a lot lately. It made him feel sluggish because his mind was going faster than he could think.

Klaus got up and went over to his desk. He pulled the comfy rolling chair out and slumped into it. He bumped his wireless mouse near his laptop. The screen lit up. A lock screen background of he and Duncan smiling, Carmelita was making a stupid face in the background. Violet flipping off the camera. Sunny sat on her shoulders.

Four thirty two AM. He squinted at the large, fuzzy numbers on the screen.

_ Four hours and thirty two minutes too early for this bullshit nonsense. _

He blinked in the brightness of the screen’s light, his eyes adjusting. He grabbed his glasses and slipped them on. Typed in his password. Sat there.

It still itched at him. At his legs and his arms and his neck and his back. It was weird and he didn’t like it very much. Not at all, really.

Klaus shifted his eyes over to the blue marker Violet had given him a few days before. He blinked. She was smart.

He was smart, too, just in a different sense, he supposed. Not with gears and mechanical thingies and mathematical stuff and all that shit, but he was smart with words.

He picked up the marker, popped the cap off, and began to write from the leftmost area on the inside of his forearm to his wrist.

[[Music]](https://youtu.be/1rKg-bXP7pU)

_ Glass walls. _

Let me out.

Stay away.

_ Glass walls shielded by the light of day. _

_ If they ever found a crack, _

_ And looked inside, _

_ What would they say? _

_ Voices telling you to stay this way. _

_ Why don’t you just take a break, _

_ And contemplate if this is fake and- _

He sighed, gripping the marker. He hated it. He hated it so much. How much it hurt to think about and how real it all had to be.

_ Be honest. _

_ Be honest with yourself, _

_ With yourself. _

Sometimes it hurt too much. Sometimes he didn’t want to say anything and it sucked and he couldn’t stand it.

_ Be honest. _

_ Be honest with yourself, _

_ With yourself. _

He pushed the marker onto part of his bare leg where his pajama shorts weren’t, near his knee. He remembered his therapist told him to repeat good things and nice things and whatever stories or songs or words that brought him comfort. Klaus would do this and then it got worse so he… started to write it on his skin in the marker that was blue that his sister Violet had given him.

_ Do you really wanna follow what they say? _

_ Is that pressure leaving diamonds in your head? _

_ As you look up at the stars, _

_ How they never cease to shine, _

_ Let that all remind you that your light is brighter if you'll just- _

It worked, mostly. Sometimes he’d feel a lot better and sometimes he’d feel the same and sometimes he’d feel a _ little _better but-

_ Be honest, _

_ Be honest with yourself, _

_ With yourself. _

His brain was rambling but he pushed it all out and focused on the task at hand.

_ Be honest, _

_ Be honest with yourself, _

_ With yourself. _

He snapped the cap of the marker back on, then looking at the time at the corner of the computer screen.

Five twenty five AM. He felt ok. Not better or worse. Just ok. He’ll sleep in.

He’d tell Violet thanks again in the afternoon.


	14. [Sunday] The one where Sunny is just being sunny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My blog - https://hongmoondescendant.tumblr.com/  
H2A AU Violet blog - https://missbuild-a-laire.tumblr.com/

Double the recipe, more people in this stupid house. Pretty good stupid house, though, for what it’s worth. Klaus would tell me it’s two apartments, but really it’s just one big house. I know better, I’m not stupid. I’m almost four years old - can’t tell me what or whatever.

Four cups of strawberries, all cut up. Two cups of water, two cups of sugar - should i add the cornstarch? Would the syrup even need that? … Ok one tablespoon. It’s optional. I’ll add more if it doesn’t thicken enough. Maybe.

Violet is making her way over to my kitchen, oh no-

“Stay out!! No!!”

She’s giggling at me.

“I’m not coming in, Sunshine, I just wanna see what you’re doin’!”

“‘Making Sunday breakfast - pancakes. Strawberry syrup.”

She’s got a big smile! I love when my sister smiles! I know she likes strawberries a lot.

“Ogh,  _ fuck  _ yeah! Strawbebbies!”

“Yeah!!! Yeah, strawbebbies!!”

She’s got another giggling fit again. There she goes to the living room-

The syrup is good enough - put in the fridge - get the pancakes ready…

...Two eggs, six tablespoons butter - have to melt that. I’ll put it in the microwave. Do we have buttermilk? I didn’t see it - I could use regular milk. It won’t kill anyone. Maybe.

Three cups of milk, three cups of flour, four tablespoons sugar, two tablespoons baking powder, two teaspoons baking soda-

“Hey Sunny, are you gonna add actual strawberries?”

Duncan!

“Do you want some in your’s?”

“Oh, sure! Thanks, Sunshine!”

Ok, I’ll add some in his - he usually has… four pancakes. Sometimes five. I’ll make four. Butter is done melting - oven mitts - put it in the bowl…

One fourth teaspoon of salt.

Mix it… in the mixer...

* * *

This was a normal weekend morning for the BaudeQuag apartments - Sunny made a bigger or more special breakfast on Sundays rather than Saturdays. On normal Saturdays, everyone wanted to sleep in. On Sundays they were busy being chaotic.

Sunny turned on the mixer. She had a plethora of recipes memorized. She knew what measurements were when they needed to be downsized or doubled or maybe even tripled. She had a fantastic memory for food.

But… for some reason… she couldn’t really remember what had happened to she and her siblings or her friends during the time that things were constantly changing and felt not ok. She heard her siblings and her friends talk about it sometimes so she would commit those events to memory so she wouldn’t forget them but…

She couldn’t…  _ remember  _ them.

She told Violet this one day, and she said she was only a baby when it all happened. A young toddler, a baby. It was ok and it was natural.

But to Sunny… it felt like something was missing. It felt wrong and it didn’t feel ok.

She’d talk to Violet and Klaus whenever it entered her mind, again, and they always had the same answer.

Eventually they took her to a therapist for smaller children, and the therapist had the same reply, though the person actually tried to help Sunny with her issues. She assumed her siblings didn’t exactly know how to deal with her issue - which is fine. They were only human.

The therapist said she was oddly smart and cognisant for her age, which surprised them, seeing as how Sunny couldn’t remember what had happened to she and her siblings and her friends.

“Maybe your brain is blocking it all out? To keep you from getting really hurt by it?” The therapist had said.

Sunny thought about this for a long time.

And maybe the therapist person was right.

But she’d deal with it when the time came, if she’d ever remember. Right now, though, she was happy in the safe place she was in with her siblings and her friends and her two really cool guardians.

She was perfectly fine where she was, and looked forward to each and every day, which was mostly the same, but who knew what the others would do to cause chaos, which was fun for her. She got to watch it. Sometimes she participated.

The good thing was - she could actually remember all these things.

And that brought her a lot of comfort.


	15. [Cutie Cutie] The one where Beatrice II is really too good for this world.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My blog - https://hongmoondescendant.tumblr.com/  
H2A AU Violet blog - https://missbuild-a-laire.tumblr.com/

The first word she said was Klaus’s name.

Or, more specifically, “Kauss”, but nonetheless, it was still the name of the first person who held her so dearly.

Her first birthday was surrounded by her adoptive siblings, and her first favorite taste was the birthday cake that Sunny had made for her.

The first time she felt true fear is when they all had beached, and everyone around her was yelling and screaming. But then she saw Lemony’s face, and it felt so familiar to her.

Her first real belly laugh was when Violet and Quigley were making stupid faces at each other.

Her first steps were because she wanted to keep up with Sunny - who she thought of as her big sister.

She watched Violet and Duncan play Animal Crossing: New Leaf together one day, saw Bunnie and Rosie, and lost her little mind.

She saw a bat plush at a toy store in the Gardens At Luvlind Mall. Lemony almost started to cry, and Violet plucked it up, placing it into Bea’s loving little hands in her stroller. She wouldn’t let go of it for the rest of the day.

It came time for Violet and some of the others to start to learn how to drive. Violet’s driving made Lemony _ abhorredly _ nervous, (“You really need to tell her the truth, Snicket.” Jacquelyn had said one day.) but in the back seat, Beabea was having the _ time _ of her _ life. _

* * *

Beatrice II toddled down the Baudelaire apartment hallway one day, out of she and Sunny’s room, down the hall, into the living room, and over to Violet, who was playing the new Pokemon game on the Switch. The little thing patted at the inventor’s knees, and Violet looked down at her,

“Oh hey, Beabea, what’s up?”

“Whayoudoing?” Bea II asked, looking up at her with big blue eyes. Violet giggled, placing her controller down, picking Bea up, and placing her on the couch,

“Playing Pokemon.”

“Pokeymahn.” Bea II said, pointing to the TV. Violet giggled giddily, “That’s right, Beabea!”

Beatrice II watched the screen as various colorful animals bounced around. She was entranced by it.

“Bunny.” Bea II said, pointing at the Sylveon on the TV. Violet nodded, “Mmhmm! That’s a Sylveon! His name is Cless.”

“Sylvon.” The little thing giggled, hearing the Pokemon’s gentle squeaking. Violet smiled.

* * *

Beatrice II and Sunny usually stayed at home with Jacquelyn while Lemony and the rest of the group were off at school.

This was when she enjoyed getting into trouble.

The young toddler looked up at the high confines of her crib. She squinted at it, then to the sides. There was a latch.

She used her little hands to push herself up, then making her way to one of the sides. She stuck a tiny hand through the space, reaching for the latch, wiggling her hand up and down.

_ Click! _

_ Cl-a-ack! _

Beabea snatched her hand back through the flat wood bars as the wall before her fell downwards, revealing an open space before her. She stood still for a moment, blinking in shock and confusion.

She then began to climb down to the carpeted floor below, carefully reaching one tiny sock-covered foot after the other. She slipped down, landing with a light _ thump _on her bottom.

“Owch.” She said softly before getting up, trying to obtain some balance.

She looked up at the large door before her, then running over to it. She jumped up, grabbing onto it with both hands, turning one way, pulling-

The door opened up, and she dropped back down onto the floor once again.

She grumbled a little before getting up and pushing the door open.

It was very quiet - save for some noise coming from the TV in the living room. Sunny must be playing a game. Jacquelyn was in there, too, on her computer. She assumed.

Bea II looked down the hall, then to the left, to where her older brother Klaus’s room was. She’d never properly explored his room as of yet. Violet’s room was always so much more enticing because of all the stuffed animals and other colorful looking things she had.

But, today, little Bea was curious.

So, she toddled over to his empty room, pushing the heavy door open, squeezing through.

The room had a lot of blue. It was filled with books and papers. The little thing wobbled her way over to his desk chair, placing her hands up on the seat, and heaving her way into it.

After a couple of minutes of struggling, she found herself in his seat, and felt super important.

She knew better than to touch his technology things without his permission, but she just wanted to see the picture the locked-screen had - so she poked at the mouse that he used to wake up the device, like he usually did.

The computer woke up, and she stared at the happy photo of her older siblings and their friends. She wondered when they were coming home - usually when Jacquelyn left when the sun started to go down. Usually near dinner time. They were always really loud when they came home.

Sometimes Jacquelyn would come get her and bring her down to the big car, and she and Sunny and Jacquelyn would go wherever the others had ended up.

Beatrice II continued to stare at the picture for a while more before the screen went black, and she blinked a little. The door creaked open, and Jacquelyn appeared in the doorway.

Beatrice II only looked up at the woman with doe eyes.

She sighed,

“There you are, you little trouble maker.” She cooed, then went to pick her up. Beabea held up her arms, Jacquelyn plucking her up from Klaus’s desk chair, looking at her gently,

“You cause as much trouble as your mother did.” Jacquelyn whispered, “And possibly as much as your namesake.”

Beatrice II responded to this by gently pulling on the woman’s hair, who grumbled, “I’m almost certain you’ll be a handful when you’re older.”

Bea II giggled.


End file.
